A Leaf Amidst the Sand
by Miyori Akurai
Summary: Shikamaru would have never known a simple extended mission in Suna would turn out the way it did. It would be a troublesome next few months indeed. [ShikamaruXTemari].
1. Chapter 1: Sunabound

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Naruto. Oh how I wish I did, but –sighs- I don't.

Chapter 1

**Suna-bound**

A walk. That would help him clear his mind. Sighing mindlessly, Shikamaru traveled down the stairs of his home and made his way to the door. Standing beneath the threshold, he blinked and sighed again.

_Now, where did I put my sandals? Tch, so troublesome._

Tapping his bare feet against the warm wooden floor, he tried to retrace his thoughts of where he last put his shoes.

_I'm supposedly a genius, yet I can't remember where my shoes are..._

Running up the stairs quickly he ransacked his room and was disappointed in what he saw. Everything _but_ shoes. The probability of his shoes not being in his room was one to five, and this time apparently, the math had turned against him.

Making his way down the stairs, he crossed the kitchen and found his shoes sitting underneath the table.

_Cheh, troublesome._

Quickly putting on his shoes and heading out the door, he found himself once again in the streets of Konoha. Crossing his arms against the back of his head, he enjoyed the sun's rays as it warmed his cool skin. He greeted various vendors as he continued wandering aimlessly throughout the city streets.

Something had been bothering Shikamaru lately. He couldn't pin point what it was exactly, but it was causing him to lose one of the things he enjoyed most. Sleep. Last night was the fourth night he had spent his time making out animals in the ceiling instead of sleeping.

All his life, he had probably been considered the most laid back citizen of Konoha, but lately things were different. The anxious rumble in his stomach...the continual restlessness. What was it? This was unlike him.

Lost in thought, Shikamaru didn't notice his former teacher, Asuma across the street calling out his name. Finally turning around, Shikamaru waved back carelessly. Crossing the dusty, well worn path, Asuma joined his former pupil.

"Ah, Shikamaru; haven't seen much of you lately." Asuma said as he greeted Shikamaru with a smile.

"Mmm."

"How have things been for you lately?"

"Eh...good."

"Good? Is that so?"

"Mmm."

"Any good missions lately?"

"Mmm, so so."

Somewhat concerned about his distant behavior, Asuma watched Shikamaru's face as they continued walking. Upon looking closely, Asuma discovered dark circles beginning to form under the younger man's eyes, and the somewhat listless expression that had settled on his face.

"Shikamaru?"

"Mmm?"

"Are you..." Suddenly changing his mind, Asuma decided not to pursue asking what was wrong with Shikamaru immediately. "Hey, how about some barbeque? I was planning on meeting Choji around now, and I'm sure he'd be happy if you came. It's been awhile since we've all been together. Kinda like the old days, remember?

"Heh, like the old days..." The thought of their past genin days brought back a smile to Shikamaru's previously dull face.

"Yeah...sure I'll come."

"Heh, great."

**-------------**

Fifteen minutes later, Shikamaru found himself sitting with Choji and Asuma in the unusually empty barbeque restaurant. Watching Choji impatiently wait while watching the sizzling meat over the hot coals, Shikamaru couldn't help but laugh.

"Can we ask the waitress if we can get more heat on our coals? This meat is taking FOREVER." Choji exclaimed animatedly.

"No Choji. It will be done soon enough." Asuma said while slightly rolling his eyes at his former pupil.

"Oi, Asuma-san come on. We've been waiting on this meat for _at least_ five minutes now. I'm so hungry I could eat my portion and Shikamaru's portion."

"Tch, calm down Choji. Cheh, you usually end up eating Shikamaru's portion anyway." Asuma said in a comical tone. "Isn't that right Shikamaru?"

"Tch, troublesome." Shikamaru replied slightly smiling as he watched Asuma and Choji further their mock argument over the rate at which the meat was cooking. As long as he could remember, ever since Team 10 had been together, Choji and Asuma always argued over pointless things at the barbeque. At times it would be Asuma warning Choji not to over-eat and Choji being the food lover that he was, never bothered to heed Asuma's warnings; leading up to Choji crying out in pain by the end of the meal because his stomach wouldn't be able to hold any more food.

_Heh...I guess some things never change._ _Change..._

In ways many things had stayed the same, but at the same time so much had changed. Six years had already passed since Sasuke had left the village. The younger Uchiha was seldom spoken about now. He had watched Naruto and Sakura move on with Sasuke's departure, but they had never forgotten him. His arrogant smirk, the cold look of seriousness reflected in his obsidian colored eyes...it was not forgotten.

Although he never personally knew Sasuke to the depth that Sakura, Naruto, and even Kakashi had known him, something about the Uchiha always stirred Shikamaru in a way he couldn't describe. Although he never admitted it to anyone, he had always admired his strength. The news of Sasuke's departure from the village surprised him, but he couldn't say he hadn't seen it coming. The boy had always wanted revenge, and the opportunity to seek it out just happened to come by his way.

But life continued. Sakura had changed in the years since Sasuke's absence. Long gone were the days of crying for the Uchiha, and she had since become rather sought after in the village. Her apprenticeship with the Godaime had radically improved her skills as a shinobi, and she had now achieved jounin level.

Even Naruto had grown. Although he was still his same boisterous self, beneath the shimmering cerulean eyes and golden hair was maturity. He had even traded in his trademark bright orange and blue jacket for an orange and black jacket. Ever since Sasuke's departure the bond between Naruto and Sakura had solidified, and the two were often seen walking in the village laughing, or sparring out in the clearing in the woods.

_Guess that's just how it goes._

Shikamaru was brought out of his reverie by a loud groan from Choji.

"Augh, can't...eat...any...m-m-more...my-my st-s-stomach..."

"I told you not to eat everything so fast, that's what you get for trying to cram all that food into your mouth." Asuma said knowingly.

Shikamaru began to chuckle lightly at the comical sight of Choji in pain and Asuma making no effort what so ever to comfort him.

"Cheh, you two are so troublesome."

Choji broke a smile through his pain and tossed a glance to Asuma.

The older man returned Choji's glance and smiled. His plan had worked. It was good to see Shikamaru smile. The younger man's cheerless attitude over the past few days had been worrying him.

"Oi, Shikamaru. Remember that one time Ino tried to take me on in an eating contest?"

Laughing, Shikamaru vividly recalled a memory from the team's genin days. Ino had been depressed over Sasuke rejecting her _again_ and was eating uncontrollably to ease away the pain of the Uchiha flat out telling her to get lost.

Closing his eyes in laughter, he covered his mouth with his hand, in order not to choke on the water he was drinking. All the men around the table were laughing and recalling Ino having to be taken to the Konoha hospital because of over eating that day.

Their laughter was slightly interrupted by the tinkling of the bells by the door which signaled to the workers that someone had entered.

The caress of a light breeze against Shikamaru's face brought him out of his amusement, and he looked to see where the draft had come from. Turning his head to the left, he was greeted by one of the messengers that worked with the Godaime.

"Ano...Shikamaru-san?"

Wiping the water from his mouth, Shikamaru nodded at her.

"Tsuande-sama would like to see you."

"Eh...me?"

"Mmm, hai. She said it was urgent."

"I see." Looking to Choji and Asuma Shikamaru gave an apologetic expression. "Sorry to break up things guys..."

Raising an eyebrow at the younger man, Asuma gave a curious expression. "What did you do this time Shikamaru?"

"Oi...nothing. I don't know what she wants. Don't go forming any weird stories...tch this is so troublesome." Shikamaru said as he stood and dusted off his pants.

Waving a goodbye to his companions, Shikamaru followed the messenger and headed towards the Godaime's headquarters.

**--------------**

"Tsunade-sama?" Shikamaru asked through the large, wooden oak door.

"Hai? Come in please." A muffled voice replied through the entryway.

Pushing the door aside, Shikamaru entered the office and found himself amidst a flurry of paperwork and bottles of emptied sake.

"T-Tsunade-sama?"

Pushing aside a mountain of towering paper work, the blonde older woman faced Shikamaru.

"Ah yes, Shikamaru. I called for you earlier, thank you for coming."

"Of course..."

"Well the reason I called you is because you have been assigned on a mission."

"Ok..."

"For the next three months, you are being transferred to Suna."

Placing his hand over his ear, Shikamaru put two fingers in his ear and cleaned it out.

"Ah, gomenasai Tsunade-sama, for a moment I thought you said I was being transferred to Suna." The dark haired man said chuckling slightly.

"You heard correctly. You _are_ being transferred to Suna for an extended period of time."

Shikamaru merely gaped at the woman as his mind began to process what she had just said.

_This life is so troublesome..._


	2. Chapter 2: Inhibition

Disclaimer: Iie...I still do not own Naruto or any of the wonderful characters used in my story.

**A/N:** Wow, thanks for the reviews (everyone that reviewed.) I really _really _appreciate them. I'm trying my best to portray all of the characters correctly, but I plan to have a little fun with them later on in this chapter. Temari should be making her arrival soon, and then it will truly be Shimari!

Chapter 2

**Inhibition **

Standing in front of the mirror in his room, Shikamaru checked his clothes out one last time. He was never one to fuss over clothing, but tonight was his 'going away' party. It had been three days since his visit with the Hokage, and news of his departure had spread quickly. Running a slim but well worked hand through his hair, he rummaged in a box on his dresser and retrieved a tie to put his hair up with. Shikamaru had told all his friends not to bother about throwing him a party, (parties were troublesome), but his opinion was swiftly over-ridden. Thus, every single one of his friends, from Naruto to even the Hokage herself had insisted on seeing him off properly.

Stretching the hair tie in his fingers, Shikamaru was surprised by a light sounding snap.

_Great...it broke..._

A search for another hair tie was fruitless, and thus the shadow wielder was forced to wear his hair down for the first time in years. Running a comb through his slightly damp hair, he realized how long it had gotten. The soft coffee colored locks reached the nape of his neck and framed his face in an attractive way. Tucking the majority of it behind his ears, a few strands managed to come loose and lie over his eyes while lightly resting his smooth cheekbones.

Glancing at his jounin vest draped across the back of a chair in his room, he contemplated on whether or not to sport it for the evening's festivities. Deciding against it, Shikamaru placed the keys to his house in the pocket of his loose fitting cargo shorts, tied his headband around his arm in his customary style and headed out.

Judging from the position of the sun, it was roughly around 7:30 p.m. Rich hues of smoldering orange and smoky pink lit up the sky as he continued to his destination.

He had been told that the gathering would be held at a local pub he frequented.

He wasn't what you would call a 'drinker's drinker' but more of a casual drinker. Passing one of the training fields on his way to the pub, he stopped and admired it. The grass was mid-calf length and swayed gently in the breeze. From the distance he was at, it almost appeared to be a sea with the waves gently lapping at the trunks of trees. The sweet scent of clover in the warm summer evening brushed past the sides of his face and slightly tousled his silky dark brown hair. Enjoying the evening, he dreaded his departure to Suna the next day even more.

_Suna...hot...dry...far away...and most of all __troublesome._

Resuming with his journey, Shikamaru picked up his pace and hurried to the pub. Being late to your own going away party would not yield good results. Lest should he be victim to the wrath of Sakura and her inhumane strength. Shuddering at the horrifying thought, Shikamaru broke into a brisk walk.

_Women, especially strong women, are such a hassle._

_­_**----------**

Sighing into his palms, Suna's Kazekage growled at the complete imbecility and incompetence of some of the people he called advisors. The gourd beside his desk was threatening to erupt with sand if he didn't hear some good news..._soon._ The council meeting he attended in the morning had only left him with a pounding headache and news of a possible drought in Suna merely worsened it.

Too add to that, peace talks with the Mist country hadn't gone so well. It appeared the Mist's leader was still angry about their last meeting. The meeting where Gaara had lost his temper at the incredibly long and boring ceremony where some half-assed dancers were performing for him, and Sabaku no Gaara had proceeded to threaten the leader with the Shukaku if he didn't pick up the pace and let Gaara return to his own country.

Rolling his eyes, the smoky red head justified his actions in his mind.

_Half assed dancers + half assed leader equals a half assed country. It's as simple as that._

Two knocks on the door reminded him of his headache and seemed to painfully reverberate in the back of his head.

The door swung open and standing behind it was the tattooed face of Kankuro. Gaara sighed; his older brother was one person he could trust. He hoped.

"Gaara..." Kankuro said as his voice trailed of near the end of his statement.

While running his hand violently through his deep scarlet hair, Gaara nodded at his brother.

Leaning against the edge of the desk, Kankuro brought Gaara up to date with the drought situation.

"We have a good amount of water supply in the underground storage, but the weather is unusually dry this season. We just have to be careful about water usage, and things will be fine."

Gaara nodded thoughtfully at his brother's advice.

A gust of wind abruptly ripped through the room and sent the papers on the Kazekage's desk whirling in mini tornadoes.

A light clink was heard against the glass of the balcony.

Glancing over, neither man was surprised at what they saw. There on the balcony railing sat Temari. Her ornate fan rested against the French doors leading into the office. She preferred this entrance to the normal one everyone else went through to see the Hokage. Even though Gaara disliked this, she could get away with it. After all, the Kazekage was _her_ little brother.

Her smooth blonde hair intermingled with brown fluttered lightly in the gentle wind as she scanned the town below her. The desert air filled with the scent of spices from the foods being cooked by the vendors below; the feeling of the hot desert sun and grit of the sand on her skin, those were things she loved about Suna. Closing her eyes, Temari enjoy the atmosphere around her.

Kankuro smiled at his elder sister with her eyes closed, winding tousling her hair. To say Temari was pretty just would not suffice. She had always been cute as a child, but as she entered her teenage years she seemed to blossom more. This did not go unnoticed by the other males in the village either. Initially, Temari had been too busy with her shinobi training to be concerned about boys. Too add to that, she was somewhat of a tomboy in her early teenage years. By the time she was sixteen her boyish phase had passed and she began to notice that she had a following. This did not escape the eyes of her younger brother, Gaara either.

The entire male population of Suna was aware of who the brother of the lovely Temari was. Sabaku no Gaara. Many men had resigned themselves to admiring Temari from afar, or even maybe _just_ maybe having a portion of a conversation with her at the open markets when she bought groceries. This though, only happened when neither Gaara nor Kankuro was with her, and they were _very_ sure neither of the brothers was within a ten mile radius. Men brave enough to approach the wind wielder while Gaara was with her, usually ended up with an injury by the end of the encounter.

Then it happened. Sabaku no Gaara became Kazekage. He was feared before, but now _any _man with _any _sort of "intentions" with his sister was considered to have a death wish. Temari never paid much attention to the many bumbling idiots that attempted to pursue her. She would never consider anyone unless they could stand toe to toe with her in a battle, and so far none of them were up to her standards.

Gaara's over protection angered her somewhat though. She always fought with him about scaring away men. If they wanted to chase after her, let them. If memory served her right,_ she_ was Sabaku no Temari, and _she_ was not considered weak by any means. Her strong will had been a dominant trait in her since childhood, and Gaara's large defense was like him lighting a match to her gasoline. Her other brother Kankuro, on the other hand, was not considered _as_ frightening as Gaara, _but_ Kankuro was still one to be feared. It wasn't past Kankuro to punch a few guys' lights out.

Beneath both brothers' harsh exteriors, _especially _Gaara's, she knew it was love. As he grew older, she began to understand some of his outlandish behavior and interpret them as his way of showing he cared about her. He was never one to directly show it, but in his own odd ways, he did.

Stretching, Kankuro raised his large, muscular arms and yawned.

"I guess I should be heading out now. I still have some things to do before I go home. Tell Temari I'll be home a bit later tonight."

"Ok." Gaara said as he nodded. All three siblings had lived together before, and Gaara becoming Kazekage hadn't changed anything. Granted, they moved out the one bedroom shack they were living in before, and bought larger dwelling. Now each sibling had his own bedroom, bathroom, and there were other rooms with various purposes.

"Oh, by the way."

"Hnn?" The red head asked, his attention slightly wandering.

"Konoha sent their shinobi for the exchange."

"Who is it?"

"I dunno. I guess we'll find out when he or she gets here in the next few days."

"I see."

**------------**

Shikamaru's going away party was in full swing by the time he had consumed his third drink. The warm feeling in his chest from the alcohol calmed the restlessness that had been plaguing him for the past week now. Many people had shown up to see him off, and he was surprised when the Godaime herself made a personal appearance.

"Oi...Tsunade-sama..."

"Heh, I decided to come see you off."

"Ah, arigatou."

"Of course."

The uncomfortable silence that spanned for the next 30 seconds was quickly interrupted by the drunken antics of Naruto, Kiba, and Lee.

Before Shikamaru had arrived, those three, including Sakura had been talking casually. Sakura had mentioned to Naruto not to get too drunk, and somewhere in the middle of the topic of drunkenness Sakura mentioned that she had **never** seen Shikamaru drunk. Those words sent the devious wheels in Naruto's mind turning. No sooner had he conspired a plan against the shadow wielder and somehow convinced Lee and Kiba to go along with his cockamamie arrangement for getting their fellow jounin as wasted and plastered as they possibly could.

Now three hours later, their plan was being set into action. The trio had consumed about three and half drinks which was just enough to help them seem convincible, and were now acting as drunk as they possibly could. At one end of the pub, Naruto was confessing his love to a glass of mixed nuts sitting on the bar. Kiba was hitting on the wooden support beam at the other end of the pub, and Lee was running around waving his drunken fist alternating between crying over the beauty of youth, and becoming angry over old age and losing the glorious beauty of youth.

Shikamaru was still somewhat sober, but he was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol. The behavior of his 'plastered' friends led to a great deal of laughter, especially on Shikamaru's part.

Noticing the shadow master was beginning to lose inhibition, Naruto ordered another drink and sent it Shikamaru's way.

'Oh no Naruto...I couldn't drink anosher... troubleshooome..." Shikamaru replied, his words beginning to slur together.

"Aww Shikamaru come on...after all this is your going away party. You gotta have some fun before you have to start living under Gaara. Tch, that's enough to make someone want to drink, dattebayo!"

Sighing, Shikamaru downed another drink. Initially, the alcohol stung his throat, but after the primary discomfort he was once again enveloped in the warm feeling of the lukewarm liquid spreading throughout him and dulling his senses.

Kiba and Lee followed Naruto's actions, and the dark haired young man consumed four more drinks over the course of the next hour. By the end of the night Shikamaru had consumed a total of seven drinks and three out of the four were hard liquor.

It was now 11:15 p.m. and Shikamaru was thoroughly drunk. Most of the people had returned home, but those who remained were highly entertained by the shadow wielder's drunken inhibition.

The strange thing about Shikamaru's drunkenness though, was that he was that still had very good control of his Kagemane no Jutsu. In fact, it seemed even stronger when he was drunk. Everyone in the pub was at the mercy of his jutsu. To add to things, it was now night time outside, and the darkness only strengthened the shadow technique.

Shikamaru's drunken laughter echoed throughout the pub as his friends were helpless in their positions. Naruto was stuck with one leg sticking out while his right hand was frozen in a pumping motion; Kiba was stuck to the wall like a fly; and Lee...well Lee had passed out by now. So he had nothing to worry about.

Everyone there was weakened by the amount of alcohol coursing through their veins and none could succeed in releasing the jutsu. Watching the hilarity of the scene from a dark corner, Asuma decided it was time for good ninja to go to bed. Shikamaru was abusing his shadow technique and laughing at Naruto as he made his blonde haired friend contort in many painful looking positions.

Stepping out of the darkened area, Asuma moved swiftly enough for the wasted Shikamaru not to have enough time to react, and quickly pressed an artery in his upper neck. Feeling the boy go limp in his arms, he slung him over his shoulder and began walking towards the exit of the pub.

Naruto and Kiba stumbled to the floor as soon as the technique had been released. They too had passed out. Chuckling, Asuma left them there to fend for themselves. The massive hangovers they would be experiencing once they woke up would be enough punishment.

**----------------**

**Translation Note: **Kagemane no Jutsu : Shadow Imitation Technique

**A/N: **Wow, this chapter was _quite_ long. Eheh, I had some inspiration last night and I just had to get it down before I lost any of it. I hope you guys liked it. I did some back story on our favorite Sand siblings. I hope it wasn't boring. I also had a little fun with our drunken Shikamaru. I could have done more with that, but I want to do my best to keep him in character. The next chapter should begin our Shimari goodness. Thanks for reading! Please review if you can!


	3. Chapter 3: Encounters

Disclaimer: I Miyori confess...I _do not_ own Naruto.

**A/N: **Hahahah, ah yes, another chapter finished. I'm really quite pleased with the way the story is coming out so far. All my reviews have been very positive, and I'm awfully flattered. You guys are going to make my head get big, hehehehe. I had to make a few changes to my last two chapters though. I had written that Temari was the middle child in the Sand siblings, but in truth she is the eldest; my mistake. I appreciate the corrections and suggestion from everyone especially **10Join-Fei**. I've been to Wikipedia more times than I can count in the past two days. Wikipedia and I were kickass friends to start with, but now I love Wiki even more. Thank you to everyone that has been reading and reviewing. It means a lot, and I appreciate it. Hounto ni! Arigatou gozaimasu minna-san!

Chapter 3

**Encounters**

Rolling over in his bed, Shikamaru stifled the urge to send a kunai into his alarm clock. Glancing around in his room, he was surprised when he noticed it was still dark. His muddled brain tried to remember why he had set the stupid clock so early. The large quantity of alcohol he had consumed the night before was now wreaking pure havoc on his system.

His head pounded with the intensity of a thousand Sakuras, and he was beginning to feel nauseous. Realizing that he had consumed _no_ food the night before, Shikamaru merely grimaced. With no food in his stomach, the effects of the alcohol would be worsened.

_Last night...what did happen? _

The events of the previous night were rather fuzzy in his mind. The only thing he could faintly remember was something about Kiba on a wall for some reason, and Naruto proposing to a glass of mixed nuts...

_Eh...I doubt that happened..._

Sighing, Shikamaru began to wonder _just how_ he got home last night. He was damn sure he didn't walk home. Racking his brain, he tried but could not remember a single thing. Clutching a pillow, he attempted to recall just why he was up at...squinting he made out the neon green numbers on his alarm clock. It was 3 a.m.

_Oi... Kami-sama..._

Closing his eyes, he rested against his headboard. Almost as if it were a feather, one word came gently floating back to his mind.

_Suna_

Then it all came back. He was supposed to leave for Suna today. That was why he was awake at God-forsaken3 in the morning. Running his hand through his soft hair in the dark, Shikamaru tried to collect himself. He inwardly cursed himself for drinking so much the night before. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought Naruto, Kiba, and Lee were _trying_ to get him as intoxicated as they could.

_Tch, I wouldn't put it past that troublesome bunch. Can't trust them as far as you can throw them._

Even with a headache, he smirked at his friends. With the amount of alcohol they consumed, all three would be out of commission for the next day or so. Nonetheless he would return the "favor" to them after his extended stay in Suna.

Suna...even if one left early, depending on the speed at which you were traveling, it was a good two to three day trip from Konoha. It was possible to make it there in one and a half days, but that was only in the case that the person was traveling non-stop. Meaning, they ran all day and into a good portion of the night. But only missing-nin were that desperate to get away _that_ quickly. Plus, in his current condition, there would be frequent restroom breaks to relieve himself of all the excess alcohol in his system. In fact, he felt the sudden urge to relieve himself now. Swinging his shaky legs over the bed, he wobbly made his way to the bathroom and regurgitated five out of the seven drinks he had consumed the night before.

After "relieving" himself, Shikamaru felt better. He was now sitting in his kitchen drinking a glass of iced water. He had taken two painkillers and strangely enough, he was feeling much better. Looking towards his clock, he read the time; it was now 3:45 a.m.

Shikamaru had just wasted about 45 minutes getting himself together, but at least he didn't feel like a semi-truck was rolling back and forth on his head any more. His headache had now dulled to a slight buzzing in the base of his skull, and he considered himself good enough to travel.

Groaning loudly, he realized he had not packed any of his belongings for his mission. Shikamaru kept putting packing off until the night before, and even then he decided he would do it after he returned from his gathering. He was sure he would do it then...he believed he would return from the pub relatively sober. At least sober enough to get his things together. But no, he wasn't sober when he returned. Hell, he wasn't even conscious.

Rolling his eyes at his own laziness, he shrugged and padded up the stairs to scrounge up some things to take. He couldn't help his laziness; it was a part of him. If he had his way, he would have stayed a genin or a chuunin forever. Not like he it really mattered that much to him. Why couldn't shinobi just lie back and watch the clouds all day. Now that would be the best. There would be no more wars, no more hunger, no more anything. Just sitting back and taking in the sky. That would be ideal, but no...unfortunately for him shinobi did not live that type of lifestyle.

_Feh, troublesome Tsunade; troublesome missions. Troublesome Suna..._

Final preparations complete, he took in one last glance of his house and sighed.

_Damn these missions..._

Packed with all the necessities, Shikamaru locked the door of his house and left. Stopping abruptly, he vaguely wondered if he had forgotten anything. If he did, maybe Tsunade-sama could possibly courier it to him.

_Tch, I doubt that hag would do that for me._

The cool morning air was refreshing and renewed his strength somewhat. The hustle and bustle of Konoha was now calm and, time almost appeared to have stopped in the village. Although everywhere was still and dark, the shadowy street calmed him. He had learned to embrace the shadows from an early age. After all, shadow jutsu were the specialty of the Nara clan.

The village gate was nearly in sight when he saw someone waving to him from there. Squinting, Shikamaru tried to make out the dark figure. It was Asuma.

"Heh, Asuma-san."

"Came to see you off Shikamaru."

"Hmm, I see."

"Better behave yourself in Suna." Asuma said lightly punching Shikamaru in the arm.

"Che, if I don't die before I get there."

"Heh, you made it through last night. You'll make it to Suna."

"Last night?"

"Ah...never mind." Replied Asuma lightly chuckling. "By the way, you owe me a drink when you get back from Suna. I dragged your drunken ass home last night."

"I never asked you to." The shadow master replied slightly annoyed.

_So that's how I got home..._

"Well, Naruto and Kiba would have killed me if I didn't. While you were twisting Naruto into a pretzel, you had Kiba plastered against a wall. Jeez, never use your kagemane no jutsu when you're drunk."

Shikamaru merely smirked at the report of his actions while he was thoroughly intoxicated. He now had a reason to appreciate his shadow techniques even more.

Patting Shikamaru on the shoulder, Asuma turned and began to walk towards the village.

"Better get going Shikamaru. Suna isn't next door you know."

"Meh..."

Tossing a wave behind him, Asuma continued walking, and Shikamaru watched his figure as it waned and eventually disappeared completely in the darkness of the night.

**--------------**

Snapping a tree branch out of way, Shikamaru paused and stopped to catch his breath for a few moments. He pulled a canteen from his pack and took a few swigs of the cool water. It was only mid-day but the sun was pounding down mercilessly. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he crouched against the sturdy tree trunk and took in the bright summer sky. Up above the clouds were floating unhurriedly.

_I wish I were like that. No one to bark orders at me... free to float err go wherever I please._

He had been traveling for quite some time now. He didn't have a watch, but Shikamaru estimated the time to be around 3 in the afternoon. He had making good time, and this was only his second stop. Around noon, he began feeling nauseous and had once again regurgitated some of the drinks from the previous night of debauchery.

Willing himself to continue, he mustered up his chakra and resumed his journey. Groaning, he realized he still had one more day of traveling ahead of him.

_I wish I were a cloud..._

**-------------**

After another day of travel, Shikamaru finally arrived at his destination. Compared to Konoha, Suna's streets were dry and dusty. The desert air permeated through his lungs making him cough. Villager's were clad in traditional Suna dress that protected them from the sand and torrid sun. Walking down the desert streets, Shikamaru felt like a fish out of water. Maybe it was his Leaf forehead protector that gave him away?

Remembering Tsunade's orders he decided to locate the Kazekage's office. Shuffling his feet, he wondered just where that was. After meandering around the vicinity for almost 20 minutes, people began to look at him strangely.

_Damn...they're looking at me like I'm part of Akatsuki or something..._

Finally, a pleasant looking older man approached Shikamaru as he was leaning against the wall of a building, starring at the sky.

"Looking for something young man? You don't seem to be from here."

"Eh...hai...I was looking for the Kazekage's office?"

"Oh, yes I can help you with that. Go back to the corner and turn left."

Smiling, the older man laid out the directions for Shikamaru.

Seven minutes later, armed with directions, or at least the general location of his destination, Shikamaru set out in search of the Kazekage's office.

The man had pointed out a path behind the shops and vendors in order to help Shikamaru avoid traffic. Even with directions, not being familiar with the city, Shikamaru believed he just might be lost...again.

_Cheh...this is so trou-_

Unable to finish his sentence, a tremendous burst of wind rammed him into the solid brick wall behind him. Stunned by the impact, Shikamaru opened his eyes to see where the wind came from. Off in the distance was a small desert area with what appeared to be two people fighting. The two figures there were moving too quickly for his eyes to catch immediately. Seconds later, he was able to make out the form of what appeared to be a man and a woman.

Temari's vision was blurring. Her opponent had been stronger than she had anticipated. The fight had stretched for maximum ten minutes, but all the same, it was intense. She had been careless in the beginning, and he had thrown three concealed senbon into her exposed upper thigh. The stinging pain was bearable initially, but as the fight furthered, she began feeling slightly dizzy. Another mistake led to a kunai being embedded in the same leg next to the senbon. Cursing her inaccuracy, she yanked the kunai out of her leg. The gash left behind was almost four inches long. The blood from the gash oozed out and merged with the blood trickling from the senbon punctures. Angered at her errors in the battle, Temari summoned the remaining strength within her and launched one massive final attack on her rival.

The woman was moving so quickly all Shikamaru could make out at the moment was the color of her hair. Blonde. The man began dashing towards her, but then she stopped abruptly. Just long enough to make a few hand signs and press her hands against the ground. What appeared to be a tornado appeared on all sides of her. Whipping the fan around herself, she swiftly engaged her fan and coupled it with the already colossal wind she was commandeering. Thrusting the attack at her opponent, his back arched as he soared into the air. He crashed into the ground several feet away. With the way he landed, he probably had a broken his back. He could consider himself lucky if he only had two or three broken bones.

Amidst the flurry, Shikamaru didn't notice the woman's weapon of choice. A fan. It was an exceptionally large fan with three lavender circles emblazed in the center. Turning around, she closed the fan and began walking Shikamaru's way.

Looking directly into her face, Shikamaru knew who she was immediately. The tough expression of self-sufficiency and indifference; it was a face not readily forgotten. Glancing at her upper thigh, he was surprised she was still walking.

Temari's lightheadedness increased as she approached the figure that had been standing there watching the scene. For a minute, it almost appeared to be a Leaf shinobi and in that same moment, it almost appeared to be Shikamaru, but she thought no more as her legs gave out beneath her and the scenery around her faded to black.

Surprised at her sudden collapsing, Shikamaru put his arms around her before she fell. Picking her up bridal style, he wondered where the nearest hospital was. The wounds in her leg would become infected if not treated soon, and her life would be in danger if she continued losing blood at this speed. Glancing at the other ninja still presumably comatose, he decided to leave him there and do something about the unconscious woman in his arms.

Analyzing the compromising situation, Shikamaru came to one conclusion. Anyway he looked at it he was pretty much screwed. Instead of things looking like he helped Temari; it would appear that _he_ was the one who put her in this situation. Visions of angry villagers attacking him flooded his mind as he groaned loudly.

_Che...How did I get myself into this? I've been in Suna for 20 minutes and this is what happens...Damn...this __is__**troublesome**_

**--------------**

**Translation Note: **Kami-sama: God


	4. Chapter 4: Circumstances

Disclaimer: I do _not_ own Naruto, but I do own the awesome poster that came with the last volume of the Rurouni Kenshin manga.

**A/N:** Hello all my lovely readers. At last, we have another chapter. I feel bad for making you guys wait this long for a new chapter. My life has just been hectic (to say the least), these past seven days. Massive biology, world cultures, English, mathematics, and keyboarding exams rounded out my week. Yes yes, pity me. Miyori is _now accepting sympathy donations_. Please make a contribution to the "_Miyori is a poor author who's __**broke**__ and could use a few new anime dvd's or manga in her collection so she can finally finish up Rurouni Kenshin manga fund_." (I was weird and bought the last volume of the RK manga just because I really wanted the poster inside. I still have like 6 more volumes to go). If you'd like to make a donation do not hesitate to pm me! Hehehe, I'm just kidding; keep your money. (I **do** take strawberry pocky though.) LOL, heheh, I was _just joking_. Umm, things have been going fabulously well with this story. I guess I'm not half bad huh? Hahahah. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I love hearing from my readers! This week I'd like to specially thank **MavisBeacon**. She is one of my readers who I have been chatting with and she is quite delightful. Thanks a bunch!

Chapter 4

**Circumstances**

Shikamaru had been in many bad situations before. There was that time when he and Choji were still genin and decided to skip their training with Asuma one day. When Asuma found out, he put both boys through living hell. Neither Shikamaru nor Choji looked at Asuma the same way again after that day.

But this...this one took the cake for sure. He was waiting in the Suna hospital ward while Gaara and Kankuro were in the hospital room with Temari.

**------------**

After taking Temari, he had tried to stop some of the bleeding with some of his own bandages. From the way the flesh looked, either the senbon or kunai had been poisoned. At least carrying his pack from Konoha had served some purpose. Next, there was the task of getting her proper medical attention. Seconds after stepping into the crowd, he was approached by a crowd of people.

Sighing, Shikamaru vaguely wondered how to deal with the mob of people now surrounding him.

_Of course, why wouldn't I be surrounded by all these people? Temari is only unconscious and bloody. That isn't so conspicuous or suspicious at all. I mean yeah...; she __**is**__ only the Kazekage's sister. _

Not amused by his own attempt at humor, he tried to answer the pestering villagers while keeping them from crowding around him and the unconscious girl. Gasps of horror rippled through the crowd as Shikamaru tried to get through.

"Temari-sama...what happened to Temari-sama?!" Exclaimed an older woman who had left her fruit stand to see what the commotion was about.

"Who did this to her?!" Another man out of the crowd demanded.

"Oi oi...can all of you step back please..." Shikamaru asked impatiently.

"You!" A voice yelled from somewhere in the crowd. "Did you do this to her?!"

This set the multitude of people into a frenzy. All at once they began attacking him with questions, and things were quickly getting out of hand.

People were mobbing and trying to take the wounded woman from his arms.

"Oi...h-hey!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

Kankuro was coming from a meeting with some of the ANBU when he noticed the disorder. From where he was, he could see the mass of people, and he heard something that faintly sounded like Temari's name. People began moving aside as he made his way through to the front of the crowd. What he saw surprised him, among other things.

Seeing the tattooed face of Kankuro emerge from the crowd, Shikamaru swore under his breath while thanking the heavens simultaneously. Wondering what the outcome of this would be, Shikamaru acknowledged Kankuro's presence and braced himself for the worst.

Walking towards the shadow master, Kankuro merely looked at his older sister.

"What happened to her?" Kankuro asked tentatively.

"When I arrived she was in the middle of fighting someone. She's sustained some extensive injuries in her upper thigh." Shikamaru replied.

"I see."

Turning behind him, Kankuro dismissed the crowd. Withholding his questions, he motioned and led Shikamaru to the hospital.

**--------------**

Shikamaru sighed in his chair and leaned his head against the wall. Gaara and Kankuro had been in the room for almost 20 minutes now and still had not emerged. Wrestling with his boredom, his thoughts replayed Temari's fighting.

She was strong. Hell, she was stronger than before. Her skills had always been apparent, but comparing the fight he saw today to his fight with her during the Chuunin exams he could tell something had changed in her movements. Even though she was injured, there seemed to be certain poise in the way she moved. Brute strength aside, there was a definite grace in her movements. He always believed she was one of the strongest female shinobi he had met, and it wasn't just her physical capabilities. Mentally, she was quite capable also. Her cool look of indifference could fool anyone in combat. She could make the person with the upper hand begin to doubt themselves causing their assurance to falter. She had a look of pride. No, it wasn't exactly pride, it was more of a confidence she possessed. Her stance in battle was secure and even if she were panicking, the look of absolute resolve on her face would never betray her. If Shikamaru wasn't extremely intelligent, he probably would have lost to her during the Chuunin exams.

He sighed unconsciously as he thought of the way she felt in his arms. He hadn't noticed while she was fighting, but when he began carrying her, he detected several things. Apparently, she had filled out even more in the years he had not seen her. Her curves hugged the form fitting material of the clothes she was wearing. She had traded in the purple outfit he was accustomed to seeing her in, and she now sported a jounin uniform. Black mesh material formed the upper portion of the chest area, and the same material made the sleeves from her elbow to her wrist. Her forehead protector had moved from where it previously resided on her neck, and was now tied around her forehead. She was indeed a deadly kunoichi.

Women were a hassle though, _especially_ strong women. He had done a good deed by helping her, but who would help him when the time came to explain to Gaara and Kankuro?

Glancing, he noticed the door from the room was opening and both men were now approaching him. Gaara's hair was still the deep crimson color it had been, but something appeared to be different in his eyes. It almost seemed as if the hard edge he remembered during the Chuunin exam was not there anymore. There was still a cold look of seriousness, but something had changed.

"Gaa- Kazekage-sama." Shikamaru said as he stood and bowed slightly.

"Shikamaru..." Gaara replied quietly.

Kankuro merely nodded at Shikamaru.

"So, Konoha sent you." Gaara stated calmly.

Shikamaru nodded. Inwardly, he sighed. It was awkward incidences like this that he disliked. He wished he could have foreseen his first few minutes in Suna. That would have saved him a lot of trouble.

"How is she..." Shikamaru asked while his eyes darted between the floor and other various inanimate objects.

"She'll live. There was some poison in the third senbon that hit her leg, but they've began counteracting it with an antidote." Kankuro replied.

"And the wounds?" Shikamaru asked cautiously.

"They'll heal. She was careless." Gaara replied curtly.

"She woke up for a short time though. She informed us everything that happened, and after that she started fighting the doctor about the sedative." Kankuro said slightly annoyed.

"I see." Shikamaru said as he smirked inwardly. From the contact he had with her, he wasn't surprised at her stubbornness.

"I'll come back and have a word with Temari personally later, but I would like to discuss some things with you Shikamaru. I think we should return to headquarters." Gaara said as he began walking towards the hospital exit.

Kankuro nodded at Gaara and parted ways with the other two men at the exit.

_Wonder where he's going..._

As if Gaara had read Shikamaru's mind, he turned around.

"Kankuro will be with us shortly."

**---------**

Fifteen minutes later, Shikamaru was seated in front of Gaara in his office.

"How was your journey to Suna?"

"Tiresome, but fine." The shadow wielder replied.

"I see."

A lengthy pause stretched between the two men. The silence was broken by Kankuro knocking and walking into the office. Nodding at Shikamaru, he made his way to stand beside Gaara.

"Oi...maybe I don't have the right to ask this, but who exactly was Temari fighting? It didn't look like someone from here."

Crossing his arms, Gaara leaned back in his chair.

"You are correct in your observations. The person was not a shinobi of this village. It was a missing nin from the Mist Village. He had been reported as a traitor, and ran before he was captured. Somehow, he managed to elude the other shinobi sent after him and was trying to lie low here in Suna. Temari said she saw him acting suspiciously and when she went up to question him, he became hostile. That is how everything began."

Nodding Shikamaru remembered that he had noted something that appeared to be an emblem of another village somewhere on his body. So, he was right.

"The guy is probably still where I last saw him. From the way Temari attacked him, it looked like he had broken at least a few bones, if not his back." Shikamaru said thoughtfully.

"He's dead." Kankuro stated flatly. "He had a broken neck."

"Temari told me where the battle had happened; that's where I went after I left the hospital. When I got there I thought he was still unconscious, but as I moved closer to him I noticed he wasn't breathing. I went and felt his pulse, and it was cold."

Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly at the revelation. Although he himself had predicted the man had broken something vital, it still stunned him a little.

Shifting the topic of the conversation, Gaara looked at Shikamaru calmly.

"Forgive our rough welcome to Suna. Both Kankuro and I hope you will enjoy your time here on the exchange mission."

"Hai."

"We have prepared a place for you to stay during your time here."

"Arigatou Kazekage-sama."

"Gaara." The red head replied curtly. "Just call me Gaara."

Handing Shikamaru a sheet of paper, Gaara explained where he would be staying.

"We'll talk more about the details of your exchange tomorrow. You must be tired from you journey."

Taking the paper, Shikamaru bowed slightly before he stood and left the room.

**-----------**

Sighing as he walked, Shikamaru realized how tired he actually was. He hadn't eaten much on his two day trip to get to Suna, and now he was starving. Faintly wondering where he could get some food, he was surprised to see the hospital come into view. Apparently, it was on the way to where he would be staying.

Pondering the events of the day, he wondered about Gaara and Kankuro.

_They were pretty calm about everything. If something like that had happened to Sakura, Naruto would be taking out every person from here to hell._

Even with their cool demeanors, Shikamaru had noticed Gaara's features soften towards his sister. It was only for a fleeting moment, but Shikamaru had seen it. As quickly as it had appeared, it was gone and Gaara's composed expression presided over his face once again.

His thoughts wandered to Temari, and he vaguely wondered about her. Stopping, he debated on whether he should go see her.

_Tch...I'm not obligated. Why should I go out of my way? But...am I really going out of my way? It's on my way home though...feh troublesome. _

Three minutes later, he was still debating with himself. It was just the circumstances of everything that had happened that day that made turn out the way they did. Right...?

_Cheh fine. Just because it's on my way. Jeez, I'm too nice._

Entering the hospital, he made his way to the nurse's station and asked for Temari's room number.

"Temari-sama? Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Kazekage-sama specifically requested for no one to visit her. I'm also not allowed to give out which room she is in." A cheery nurse clad in the white replied.

"Oh...I see. Thanks."

"Not a problem." The nurse said.

Turning around Shikamaru headed began walking down the hall towards the exit.

_Heh...over protective much, Gaara?_

Two young men resembling doctors passed him in the hall. He overheard them as they talked.

"What? Temari-sama is under your care? You lucky dog." One of the young doctors said with envy is his voice.

"Hahah, I know. She's pretty good looking, and she has a body to die for." The other doctor said happily. "I used to think my ward was so boring. But now...hell I'll come everyday even if I'm off."

"What area are you in?" The other doctor asked inquisitively.

"Oh, I'm in the five-hundreds. Temari is in room 501, my new _favorite_ number." The first doctor said teasingly."

Rounding a corner, Shikamaru stopped and smirked. Young doctors and their idle talk usually didn't yield good results, but today that was a different story.

_Apparently, Kami-sama is on my side today..._

Returning to the nurse's station, he found a hospital directory on the wall. According to the map, the five hundreds were on the fifth floor. Making his way towards an elevator, a young boy held the door open for him and asked what floor he was heading to.

"Fifth."

"Oh, me too." Replied the boy happily.

_Cheh, lucky..._

The young boy didn't waste time making conversation with Shikamaru once the doors of the elevator had closed.

"So...who are you here to see?"

"Tem- ahh...someone I know." Shikamaru said while smiling at the boy.

"Oh, so a friend?"

"Uh...sure. I guess you could say that."

Shikamaru hadn't exactly considered himself and Temari friends. They were more like acquaintances.

"That's nice."

"Who are you here to see?" Shikamaru asked the younger boy.

"Oh, my mom. She's going to be having a baby soon but before that, the nurse said I could come up and see her." He said beaming. "Pretty soon, I'm going to have a sister."

Smiling, Shikamaru wondered what it would be like to be young and worriless again. Even though he had always been carefree, the shinobi lifestyle had conditioned him over the years.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later mister. Good luck with your friend."

"Heh, thanks."

Parting ways with the boy, Shikamaru walked down the white hall until he found room 501. Looking down the long corridor, he cautiously placed his hands on the door handle and quickly slipped inside the room. From the large window at the opposite end of the room he could see that the sun was setting, and the sky was beginning to darken. He leaned against the door and smirked. She was sleeping. Silently walking towards her, he stopped by the edge of her bed and watched her sleep. Even in slumber, her features displayed that confidence she had.

Her hair had been taken out of their ponytails and now the blonde locks splayed over the pillow. An IV tube containing what he assumed was sedative had been secured in her arm, and the drip in the tube matched the steady beeping of the electrocardiogram. Amidst all the chaos of the day, Shikamaru suddenly felt calm. Watching the rising and falling of her chest, the restlessness that had been plaguing him seemed to effortlessly drift away.

Turning around, he walked towards the door.

"Sabaku no Temari...a dangerous woman..." He whispered as he quietly left the room.

The sound of shuffling feet and a closing door disturbed Temari's sleep. Her eyelids felt heavy.

_It's probably that damned sedative that doctor gave me that's making me incoherent._

While she slept, she thought she heard someone saying talkingIt was a soft, deep voice that sounded familiar. It almost sounded like Shikamaru.

_Heh...fat chance. That lazy guy is probably just watching the clouds in Konoha. _

Leaving the hospital, Shikamaru followed the directions on the map Gaara had given him and entered what would be his new home for the next few months. Turning on the light, Shikamaru was surprised to see Gaara had given him such a nice place to stay. The living room was fairly spacious and the bedroom was just as nice. Dropping his things on the floor, he lay on the couch to rest for a few minutes and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.


	5. Chapter 5: Something Else

Disclaimer: Naruto is so _not_ mine...

**A/N**: Hello my pretties. How art thou to be doing? New chapter time! Sorry that this chapter took such a long time. It's a longer one, so I hope everyone enjoys it. You know the chapter took a long time when even the author is complaining about how long it took the author to write it. Lol. Heheh, well thanks to everyone for reading so far. I checked the story and as of right now there have been **1,521** hits. I was like wow, that's _a lot_ of people. Heheh, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 5

**Something Else**

A loud knocking at his door awoke Shikamaru from is slumber. Slowly opening his eyes, he groggily attempted sitting up. The shimmering sun streamed in and bathed everything in sight. Groaning, he realized his entire body was stiff. Sleeping on the couch did not yield pleasant results. A sharp pain pulsed through his neck as he stretched his arms.

_Damn...I guess I fell asleep here last night. Guess I was really tired._

The knocking persisted as he made his way to the door.

"Hai, I'm coming." Running his hand through his hair he muttered "Who the hell comes waking someone up at this ungodly hour?"

"Yeah what do you wan-" He stopped short as he stared at who was on the opposite side of the door.

"G-Gaara... Ohayo..."

"Ohayo."

Leading the crimson haired shinobi in, Shikamaru closed the door and sat on his couch to hear the reason behind Gaara's early morning visit.

**-----------**

"What do you mean she's _gone?"_ Shikamaru asked in disbelief.

"I received a call from the hospital this morning. The doctor in charge of Temari went in to check on her and apparently, she wasn't there. The window was open and all of her belongings were missing."

"She couldn't get very far with those injuries..." The shadow master muttered thoughtfully.

"You're wrong. Temari is very tenacious." Gaara said somewhat annoyed. "Regardless, I came to see if by any chance she had stopped by here. I was going to ask if you saw her, but it appears that I woke you."

"Eh..." Shikamaru attempted to remedy his disheveled appearance by straightening his shirt and running his hand through his mussed hair. "No...I haven't seen her Gaara. She looked like she was going to be out for awhile when I saw her yesterday afternoon. "

"You saw her yesterday?" The Kazekage asked inquisitively.

"Oh, I meant when I was carrying her and everything yesterday." Shikamaru responded quickly.

_Tch, wouldn't want Gaara to find out I violated the no visiting rule...troublesome._

A suspicious glance crossed the red head's face as he watched Shikamaru. Standing up, he tossed one last questioning look Shikamaru's way and headed toward the door.

"All right. Well I'll be going now. Contact me if you come across any information." Gaara said quickly.

"Yeah, I'll do that..."

Crossing the threshold, Gaara left, and Shikamaru closed the door with a click. Leaning against it he sighed and ran his hand through his hair again.

_That woman must be crazy._

The growl of his stomach interrupted the silence of the morning.

_Damn...I never ate last night. I need some food._

Walking into the bathroom, Shikamaru splashed some water on is face and straitened up. Even though it was early, his hungry stomach was commandeering his actions.

_I'll take a shower when I get back; right now I just need to run out and get something to eat. _

Grabbing his sandals by the door, he headed out into the warm morning sun. Shielding the sun from his eyes, he surveyed his surroundings. One word came to his mind. _Sand_ and a lot of it. Walking across the path, he realized how early it actually was. Unlike Konoha, where the vendors were out at the crack of dawn, here there weren't many people out. In fact, so far he was the only soul outside.

His stomach growled loudly again as his journey continued. Almost twenty minutes had passed and there was still no sign of any sort of vendor.

_Great...no vendors equals no food. _

Looking around him, he realized he had now wandered to the far edge of the town. Squatting down he leaned his back and gazed at the clouds. Closing his eyes, he released a breath and sighed again. Not only was he hungry, but now he was hungry _and_ lost.

The sound of shuffling feet and sand interrupted his moment of quiet. Opening his eyes, he realized there was a person walking his way. The desert wind began blowing and it whipped around and spun the arid sand around the figure. The mini sand storm stopped and revealed a cloaked body.

_Eh? Who is that?..._

A slender hand reached out and pulled back the hood of the cloak, revealing long blonde hair that gleamed in the sun.

_Trouble seems to seek me out doesn't it? Cheh..._

"Shikamaru..." Temari said while smirking quietly.

"So much for hospital arrest, huh?" Shikamaru said.

Rolling her eyes, she placed a hand on her hip. "I didn't need to go to the hospital. I'm pissed at whoever took me there."

"Oh? Well then I guess I better watch out huh?"

"Watch out? Why would you wat-..." Then it clicked in Temari's mind. Another smirk crossed her lips. "You have some guts..."

"You're the one who collapsed one me." He said as he transferred his attention back to the sky. "Also, your brother paid me an early morning visit this morning. Apparently, you're missing at the hospital."

"Which brother?"

"Take a guess."

"Gaara." She said as her tone went from slightly annoyed to _very_ annoyed.

"Normally, I wouldn't give a rat's ass on where you were; it's rather troublesome, but considering that you're injured _and_ the fact that the Kazekage himself came looking for you, it would be in your best interest if you turned yourself in."

"Pfft, try me." The wind wielder replied saucily.

Dusting his pants off, he stood up and looked at her. "Women are so difficult." He muttered to himself.

"Heh, not all women; just the ones with sense." Temari chimed.

"Regardless, you were poisoned. You still need to be at the hospital."

"I'm not going back, and you are _not_ reporting me in to my _younger _brother either."

"Hmm? That's fine. I'll just tell Kankuro."

Temari bristled at the thought of her words being twisted in his favor. "Damn, I refuse."

Smirking Shikamaru chuckled lightly.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing..."

"Well, the only way possible to get me back to that hospital was if I was unconscious...or if you beat me in a fight." She said with a devious gleam in her eye.

"Fight? I am not fighting you. I don't fight women. The only thing I'm fighting is serious hunger." Shikamaru said in a tired voice.

"Tch, then I'm not going."

_Why is this woman such a hassle?..._

"I am _not_ going to fight you." Shikamaru replied while ever so slightly exasperated.

"Fair enough, then you don't say a word to Gaara."

"Temari, you're a bright person. You and I both know that you should be on bed rest for the next few days."

"I'm _**fine**_"

His stomach growled again, and he rubbed his face with his hands. Realizing that Temari was serious about fighting, Shikamaru decided to look at it from an intelligent standpoint.

_Fight her and get it over with in less than fifteen minutes, and then I get to eat. Don't fight her and argue about this until tomorrow, and I don't get to eat and then I'd have to deal with Gaara and Kankuro. Damn...who knew when I got up this morning, I would have to be doing this..._

After running through all the plausible alternatives in his mind Shikamaru came to one conclusion.

"Fine, I'll fight you, but on one condition. If I win, then you turn yourself in to Gaara."

"And if _I_ win?" Temari asked inquisitively.

"If _you_ win you can do whatever you want."

"Fair enough."

Dropping the cloak covering her body, Temari revealed her bandaged leg. The wind master pulled out a kunai and took a fighting stance.

"Oi...I don't have any weap-..."

Shikamaru's sentence was cut short by Temari tossing a pair of kunai and shuriken to him.

"No excuses." Temari replied tersely.

Tucking the shuriken in the holster in his leg, he grasped one of the kunai and his right hand and groaned inwardly.

_What a day..._

Seeing that he had taken his stance, Temari dashed at him without a moment's hesitation. She quickly appeared in front of him with speed only wind could posses and brought her uninjured leg upward to kick him.

Grabbing hold of her leg, he jerked his hand in a clockwise motion and tried to twist her away from him. She spun counter clockwise and released herself from his grip. She landed on her unhurt leg and right hand to brace the impact. Bringing her eyes up to his, she pressed her palm against the ground and smirked. It had begun.

Shikamaru took his eyes off her momentarily and by the time he looked back, she was gone. Suddenly he saw her figure flash in front of him and felt a blow under his chin. He flipped backward and slid on his legs. Shikamaru tasted blood in his mouth and grimaced. He wasn't one to be careless, but he hadn't expected her to kick that hard. It seemed she _really_ was serious about this.

Temari smiled inwardly. Landing a blow on him had been much easier than she expected. Either his skills had weakened since she last fought him, or he wasn't earnestly fighting. It was probably the latter. She stood watching him. When in real battle, Shikamaru was just as dangerous as she was. The thought of fighting someone on an equal level energized her even more. Ignoring the growing pain in her leg, she dashed forward again and brought a kunai out to strike him but was surprised when he vanished just as quickly as she had appeared. She felt a strong thrust from behind her and heard the wind whiz through her ears as her body began to catapult into the air. Quickly regaining her bearings, she tried to position her body in a favorable way; however, Shikamaru was already one step ahead of her. He jumped up into the air while positioning himself under her and rounded out his assault with a kick in her back.

Temari gritted her teeth at the impact, but her discomfort was worth it in the long run. He had done just what she wanted him to do. She placed her hand behind her back in a casual manner and grabbed Shikamaru's foot just as soon as it made contact with her back. Temari gripped his foot and pulled his body up so it was level with hers. She saw his eyes widen as he realized what she was about to do. As soon as they were face to face in the air, she took her foot and kicked Shikamaru in the stomach with every single ounce of strength in her body.

Shikamaru felt the wind leave his lungs at the moment of Temari's kick. He landed on the desert sand with a thud. He had tried to brace his fall, but that was at the expense of his left wrist. Grimacing he felt the sharp pain pulse through his wrist.

Temari watched Shikamaru on the ground on his knees rubbing his wrist. Seeing her attack go through flawlessly made all the pain worth it. The only thing she regretted was that she was forced to use her injured leg to kick him. Ok, things hadn't gone _exactly_ flawlessly, but it was the way she was situated in the air that compelled her to utilize her wounded appendage. Temari had learned to take calculated risks in battle. Either she used the injured leg, or the attack wouldn't have gone through. She looked down and noticed crimson beginning to seep out from the dressing on her leg. The pain had now gone from a stinging to a throbbing. With the way things were going, she had two...maybe three more attacks in her before the pain would become unbearable. She would need to end this quickly, and that would not have been a problem. Against other opponents, it would not have been a problem, but this was Shikamaru, and that was one thing Temari neglected to pay heed to.

Temari looked up and was about to make her final assault on Shikamaru when she realized she could not move. Everywhere...she was frozen. Her eyes then focused on the man several feet away from her. His fingers were held in a prayer-like position. Temari swore loudly. She had fallen for Shikamaru's signature technique, kagemane no jutsu: shadow possession. She hadn't expected any sort of attack from Shikamaru. Hell, she thought he might have been down for the count after the kick she mercilessly delivered to him. The shadow that stretched in between her and him shortened as he walked towards her. He stopped a few feet away from her and sat down. Because of the shadow technique, she was also forced to be seated. A contended look settled on his face as he stared at her.

He then tilted his head upward and glanced upward. The light blue sky contrasted against the tanned desert sand. He noted the white feathery clouds in the sky and sighed in a somewhat satisfied tone.

Temari was irritated, to say the least. The fact that she had fallen for such a simple technique wound her up enough, but watching Shikamaru "taking five" aggravated her even more.

_Damnit...what now?!_

Temari racked her brain and then it hit her; she remembered. It was possible to break this shadow jutsu, but it required a strong will and a _high_ pain tolerance. Luckily, Temari possessed both.

She closed her eyes and began focusing all her strength in once place. It took several moments, but after awhile she was able to regain minimal control of her right hand.

Shikamaru had closed his eyes, but opened one eye just to see what she was trying to do.

"Oi... you're trying to break kagemane no jutsu? Yeah...good luck with that. Tch, troublesome woman." Shikamaru muttered in a semi distracted voice.

She ignored his comment.

_You apparently don't know the kind of woman I am. Heh, just watch; I'll make you eat those words Nara Shikamaru." _

More control returned to her hand as she focused more intently on it. Finally, she had manipulated enough chakra to grab hold of a kunai in the holster attached to her leg. Temari fumbled with the weapon for a moment, but soon secured it firmly in her grip.

He had now opened both eyes and was watching Temari with interest. Shikamaru wouldn't have imagined what she did next.

Without hesitating, Temari raised the kunai and stabbed herself in the leg. The thick red fluid soaked through her clothes, but as soon as she felt the pain in her leg, she felt control of her body returning to her. Along with control came the ache of her new stab wound. She bit back the pain and quelled the urge to scream. Both legs were bleeding profusely, but at least she had broken the technique.

Shikamaru was speechless. This woman was indeed something else. This was only the second time he witnessed someone successfully break his kagemane no jutsu or anything similar to it. And the first time it happened, it was him. He had broken his own finger to gain control of his body, but that was different. He was a man...and Temari...was not. She was limping towards him, and Shikamaru knew she still had plenty of fight left in her. The blood from her injuries left small puddles and stained the ground. Shikamaru was well aware that if he didn't stop the fight now, she could die from blood loss.

_Is it me, or have I done this before? Oh yeah that's right, it was just yesterday I was saying the exact same thing to myself. Damn...this woman...is __something else_

Even though this was Temari, Shikamaru knew stopping her by just taking her out wouldn't be the best thing. He quickly flipped through all the options in his head and settled on the least painful way of getting her to stop.

Temari was determined to end the battle. The light headed feeling had returned, but she willed herself to ignore it.

_Just a little more..._

The Shikamaru she fixed her attention on suddenly vanished. His unexpected disappearance worried her. In a split second she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and his muscular chest pressed against her back. She heard him mutter "sorry" and in next moment, everything dulled and faded to black.

Shikamaru held her body up as she left consciousness. He had pressed down an artery in her neck. The lack of blood to her brain made her lose consciousness. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but it was for her own good.

He picked her up bridal style and sighed loudly. Now how was he going to explain _this_ to Gaara? The morning sun was now hot, as Shikamaru began trudging onward. While behind him, the battle ground grew smaller and smaller.


	6. Chapter 6: Rain and Honey

Disclaimer: You thought_ I_ owned Naruto? **LOL**

**A/N: **Yo! How are all of you guys? Hope you're doing well. So this is chapter 6 of "A Leaf Amidst the Sand." I'm almost halfway through...wow I can't believe the story is actually half way done. I have had so much fun writing this story, and now I'm getting into my favorite parts. It's now time for some yummy Shika and Tem moments. Muwahahaha; arigatou for reading and reviewing. You are all much loved.

Chapter 6

**Rain and Honey**

Gaara was irritated. It was now almost 4 p.m. and there was still no sign of Temari. He knew she could pull a stunt like this, but he never expected to do it while she was injured. He drummed his fingers against his mahogany desk and sighed. He had been in his office for several hours now and, he was beginning to get bored. Kankuro knocked and entered the office.

"Any sign of her?"

"Nothing at all." Kankuro replied quietly."

Crossing his arms, Gaara let another aggravated expression settle on his face. "Temari..."

**------------**

The smell of cooking food roused Temari from her sleep. She blinked and yawned. Turing her head she realized she was in a bed. The soft, green sheets rubbed against her skin.

_Where am I...?_

She heard the sound of running water coming from a door on her right. It sounded like a shower.

_A shower? Who's in the shower?_

Propping herself up and pulled back the covers. A sharp pain shot up her legs as she tried to climb out of the bed. She leaned back against the pillows behind her and sighed. What had she gotten herself into now? Looking down she noticed more dressings around her wound. She somewhat regretted stabbing herself. Not only did her first injury hurt, but now her stab wound throbbed mercilessly.

The noise of water running had stopped and now she heard what sounded like feet shuffling around in the bathroom. After several minutes the movement stopped and the doorknob turned. Of all the things she expected, what she saw surprised her.

A shirtless Shikamaru exited the bathroom. She was used to seeing his hair in its customary ponytail, but now it was down. The damp, slick, coffee colored locks hung loosely and curved around his face. The white towel around his neck seemed to draw her eyes towards his muscular chest.

The thin and somewhat wiry Shikamaru she remembered from their chuunin days was now long gone. His abdominal muscles were toned and well defined. Small water droplets dripped from his hair and rolled down his equally well toned arms. The black jounin pants he wore were slung low on his hips, and Temari couldn't help but stare. Everything on his body was lean and muscular. Shikamaru had definitely become _much_ more attractive.

Noticing Temari's gawking, he smirked lightly.

Having been caught ogling his body, Temari turned her face and tried to hide the fierce blush that had erupted onto her face.

"You're awake." He said with the slightest hint of humor in his voice. The fact that he caught Temari admiring his body made him chuckle. He closed the bathroom door and made his way toward the edge of the bed.

"Yeah…. Did you bring me here?" She asked quietly.

Nodding, Shikamaru pointed to her injured legs. "I'm not so much of a bastard to have left you there, you know."

"Yeah." She then remembered their sparring match. "So I guess I lost huh?"

"I wouldn't say that."

"…….."

"So, when is Gaara coming?" She asked with a twinge of disappointment in her voice.

Shikamaru held his peace for a moment before deciding to answer her.

"I didn't tell him."

"You didn't _what_?" Temari stared blankly at him for the next 30 seconds.

"It would be troublesome if I told him right off the bat, so just be thankful."

Temari stopped staring and her lips turned upward in a smile.

"I'm making some food. It will be ready in a few minutes."

"Alright."

"In the mean time, I think it would be best for you to take a shower." Shikamaru stated.

"A shower? But I don't have any p-"

Shikamaru cut her off mid sentence. "Don't worry. If it's clothes you're worried about then you can borrow some of mine."

"I….uh…"

"Really Temari, you should take a shower. It would be more painful if the blood started to drying up, or even if your leg became infected."

Looking down, she nodded. She turned to the edge of the bed and tried to bring her legs up. Both legs throbbed slightly at the movement and she gasped lightly.

"You can't walk can you?" Shikamaru said flatly.

Not giving her time to answer, he leaned over and brought her up in his arms. Carrying her bridal style, he turned around and made his way to the bathroom. Temari blushed at their sudden closeness. The feeling of his bare chest against hers made her unconsciously cling to him. His neck radiated warmth, and he smelled good. His scent was something like clean rain water. It was cool and crisp, but comforting in a way.

Shikamaru didn't know what possessed him to carry her. He could have just supported her as she walked, but no he picked her up. The feeling of her curves against him began to provoke some suggestive thoughts in his mind. Pushing them to the farthest corner in his mind, Shikamaru shuddered at the thought of what Gaara would do to him if he found out some of the thoughts that just flittered through his mind. Pulling her up, Shikamaru unconsciously caught a whiff of Temari's scent. It was sweet…almost something like honey.

Turning the doorknob with one hand, he walked into the spacious bathroom. A large tub was at the far end and a shower was next to it.

Tugging at his sleeve, Temari signaled for Shikamaru to put her down.

"Thanks…" She said quietly.

"Alright." He walked across to a cabinet on the left and retrieved a large fluffy white towel. "Here." He said as he handed it to her.

Nodding a thanks, she took it from him.

He turned around and walked to the door. "I'll leave some clothes out for you to wear on the bed. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Thanks Shikamaru." She said quietly.

Closing the door behind him with a firm click, she heard his footsteps leave the room. Letting out a large sigh, she sat down on the edge of the tub. The image of a shirtless Shikamaru seemed to have been permanently ingrained in her mind. And he had carried her too! He had _definitely_ changed.

Temari turned the faucet on the wall and let the tub fill up with water. A bath sounded really good. Watching the water bubble and rise in the tub, she vaguely wondered what kind of clothes he had left for her to wear. Temari was somewhat thankful he cut her sentence off earlier. She wasn't going to say she didn't have any clothes. The problem was she didn't have any panties. Laughing lightly, she wondered if all her encounters with Shikamaru would always be this…._interesting._

**------------**

Shikamaru heard the door of his bedroom close. Expecting to see Temari fully dressed, he was surprised at what he saw.

There she was in the shirt he left for her to wear. The thing was, she was _only _wearing the shirt. He detected a light redness on her cheeks and suspected there was a good reason behind her not wearing the shorts he placed next to the shirt.

"The pants were too big…they kept falling off…." She said quietly while looking down.

"Oh…that's fine."

The white, long sleeve button down shirt she was wearing contrasted against her tanned skin. The first three buttons of the shirt of her shirt were unbuttoned, exposing the supple skin of her chest and teasing him with the hint of cleavage it gave away. The shirt only came down to her mid thigh, and her shapely legs were uncovered the rest of the way.

"I made some food. You hungry?" He asked.

The mention of food brightened her face.

"Definitely. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning." She said.

He turned and began walking into to the kitchen. She limped behind him some few feet away.

"It's ok. Don't follow me. I'll bring the food out here." He said behind him.

"No, it's fine. The bath made the pain more unbearable." She said as she continued shuffling behind him.

_I don't need to be babied…._

The scent of something simmering surrounded her when she entered the kitchen. Shikamaru was in front of her, dishing something into a plate. Her stomach growled loudly at the thought of food. Shikamaru turned and looked at her.

"Was that your stomach?" He asked inquisitively.

"What if it was?" She replied with a smirk on his face.

He laughed and continued plating their food.

_I guess some things never change._

She hobbled over to a bar stool and sat down.

"I didn't know you could cook."

"This is my alternative to starving." He stated flatly.

Placing the lid back on the pot, he carried the two bowls to the bar and sat in the barstool beside her. He carefully set a bowl in front of her.

Temari was surprised. The food actually looked good. In the bowl was fluffy white rice and a medley of stir fried vegetables. She was expecting cup ramen, but Shikamaru had surprised her once again.

She didn't know how hungry she was until she began eating. The food was so good she even had a second bowl. After they finished she took both their bowls and put them in the sink.

"Oi, I'm in the living room." She heard him yell from another room.

Following his voice, she found herself in the spacious living room. Shikamaru had disappeared into his bedroom for a moment. She heard him rummaging through some bags looking for something. He quickly re-emerged with a small black bag.

"I'm not much of a doctor, but just to be sure your leg stays ok, I think the dressings should be changed. Is that ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess that's ok. What do you want me to do?" She replied.

"Just sit down." He said as he pointed to the couch next to her.

Shikamaru walked towards her as soon as she sat down. He squatted down beside her legs and frowned.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yeah…I'm going to need you to lift your legs for me. Can you do that?"

Temari was about to say 'sure', but then she remembered she wasn't wearing pants. She managed to wash her panties and blow-dry them in the bathroom, but still. Granted, it was better than not having panties, but she would rather not have Shikamaru see her underwear.

Noticing Temari's look of apprehension, Shikamaru asked if something was wrong.

"I….umm…." She began cautiously as she fingered the leather on the couch and bit her lower lip.

Then it clicked in his mind.

_She's not wearing pants…of course…..tch…troublesome._

"He looked up at her and feigned a smile. Don't worry, I won't look. I promise." When in reality, he was growing more nervous by the second.

"Alright. But if I catch you peeking, I'll gouge your eyes out." She stated flatly.

"Fair enough." He said as he removed the bandages and antiseptic from the black bag.

Shikamaru glued his eyes to her legs and was thankful he had a strong will. Any other man would have probably tried to look under her shirt by now.

He had successfully taken off the older dressings and cleaned the wound. He opened the cap of a little white bottle and dabbed the liquid that came out on a cotton swab.

"This is some antiseptic. It's going to sting, but try to bear with me."

He gingerly swabbed the edges of the wounds with the cotton swab. A few seconds later, he dampened a cotton ball with the same liquid and dabbed it directly on the gashes. Temari tilted her head back and squeezed her eyes shut. It _really_ did sting.

"Temari?" Shikamaru asked in a concerned voice. "Are you alright?"

Giving the pain a few seconds to pass, she opened her eyes and nodded. Her face was flushed and her breathing had quickened.

He noted to ask Tsunade-sama what was in this antiseptic the next time he saw her. It must have been pure salt or something….

He finished up quickly and wrapped both legs in clean bandages.

"Alright, we're done. You can put your legs down now."

Temari smiled slightly at him and placed her feet on the floor. "Thanks…Shikamaru…"

He returned her smile. He hadn't meant to, but as she brought her legs down he accidentally caught a glimpse of her panties. They were lacy and black. Shikamaru groaned inwardly as he quelled his body's natural reactions. He had a strong will, but if things kept going this way, he could be in trouble.

Temari yawned and leaned against the couch.

"Tired?"

"Mmmm, a little bit." She replied.

"You should sleep."

She nodded.

"You can go sleep in the bed tonight. I'll sleep out here."

Shikamaru plastered a smile on his face. In reality, he wasn't looking forward to spending another night on the couch.

"What? No, don't sleep on the couch. I can sleep there." She protested

"No way. You need to sleep comfortably or you'll wake up in pains tomorrow."

"Fine, I'll sleep on the bed, but you sleep there too. It's more than big enough for the two of us."

Shikamaru gave a puzzled expression at her request.

"I can't sleep in the bed with you."

"Why not?" She argued back.

"Because I….I talk in my sleep and you wouldn't be able to sleep."

Temari let out a big laugh and smiled.

"That's fine. I'm a deep sleeper so I won't hear you."

"Well I move in my sle-" Shikamaru was cut short.

"You're just giving excuses. You've been running around because of me. It wouldn't be right to make you sleep on the couch."

"Fine." Seeing there was no way to win against the persistent woman, he resigned his excuses.

_This woman….is so troublesome…._

Shikamaru glanced at the clock in the kitchen. It read 9:45 p.m. It was still pretty early, but he was tired.

Temari was already in the room when he finished cleaning in the kitchen. Walking to the bed he handed her a white pill with a glass of water.

"Here, take this. It should help with the pains."

Accepting it gratefully, she sipped some water and swallowed the pill. She finished the water and slid out of the bed.

"Don't worry, I'll take it back to the kitchen." She said.

"Alright."

She walked into the kitchen and placed the cup in the sink. Even though she had just taken the pain killer, the throbbing in her legs had gone down and she walked with less of a limp. She practiced a kick in the air and was satisfied that she could do that with minimal pain.

Confident in the pill, she lightly sprinted back to the room to show Shikamaru the new found strength in her legs.

"Shikamaru look, that pill is really good." She said excitedly as she jogged into the room.

He was lying on his back in the bed staring at the ceiling. Shikamaru turned his head to see her running into the room. Unfortunately, he didn't see her legs falter just as she neared the edge of the bed.

Temari was stunned as she suddenly lost the strength from her legs. She tripped and landed with a soft thud. Expecting the pain of falling on the wooden floor, she was surprised when she felt herself on top of something warm and soft.

_Wooden floors aren't soft….._

Opening her eyes, she found herself sprawled on top of Shikamaru on the bed. Her chest was pressed against his bare chest and their faces were a hairs breadth away from each other.

Shikamaru opened his eyes to find Temari on top of him. His eyes were drawn to the opening of her shirt which was doing its best to contain her chest inside. He could feel her racing heart against his chest. Her supple breasts pressed up against him as Shikamaru steadied his breathing.

"A-are you ok?" He asked with concern.

"F-fine…."

The two continued to stare at each other.

As if Temari just realized that they were in a rather _compromising_ position, she quickly rolled off Shikamaru onto the other side of the bed.

He inwardly thanked the heavens. If she hadn't gotten off at that moment, his body might have gotten the better of him.

Temari refused to turn around and face Shikamaru. She was sure her face was as red as Gaara's hair. The scariest thing of all…..was that….she _enjoyed_ lying on top of him. The feeling of his smooth skin against hers, the way his scent engulfed her, it was too much. Her own body was beginning to react to being so close to him.

Regaining her composure, she turned and faced him. His chin was propped up in his palm, and he was looking at her.

"Shikamaru…I…" The words were caught in her throat as she fumbled for the right thing to say.

_What am I supposed to say? I'm sorry for tripping and lying on top of you?_

A few more stale seconds passed and Temari finally blurted out an 'I'm really sorry.'

"I didn't hurt you anywhere right?"

"No…I'm fine. Don't worry about it Temari." Shikamaru replied casually. "Ready to sleep?"

"Yeah."

He dimmed the lights and turned his back to Temari.

Temari crawled under the thick comforter and stared at his well defined back.

"Goodnight Shikamaru."

Shikamaru paused slightly before answering.

"Goodnight Temari."

The room was quiet and soon Shikamaru heard Temari's steady breathing, indicating she was asleep.

He rolled over and looked at her. Her lower lip was slightly pulled inward and her arms were pulled up to her chest.

He turned around and sighed.

_My second night in Suna and I'm in bed with a woman…._

He continued to listen to her rhythmic breathing and, before long he was lulled to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Complications

Disclaimer: Miyori is not the creator of Naruto.

**A/N: **Hey everyone! I received quite a bit of nice reviews for the last two chapters, I'm so terribly flattered. I was reading the chapter 6 again and I felt that Temari and Shika were kinda OOC so I went back and made some changes to the last chapter. (Was the last chapter too fluffy? Hmm...maybe I went a bit overboard. You guys should tell me if it was too fluffy, kay?) The changes are pretty minimal, but the greatly aid in keeping everyone in character. Even with my slight blunders in the characters, it seems like everyone really liked it. This chapter is kind of the transition chapter. It's the springboard for everything. I kinda didn't like writing this chapter, lol. Thanks for everyone who's reading and reviewing. (And keep reading and reviewing!)

**PS**: I received so many emails and reviews with the readers pleading for Gaara not to catch Shikamaru and Temari together. I thought that was so adorable. I don't want Gaara to find them either...or do I? Hahaha read and see.

Chapter 7

**Complications**

Shikamaru woke to something that vaguely sounded like pounding on his door. Rolling over he felt something soft and warm in his bed. He was pretty sure his sheets weren't _that_ soft.

_What...is...that...?_

Opening his eyes, he saw Temari wound in under the covers next to him. Her blonder hair splayed over the pillows, and her face looked peaceful.

_Oh yeah...I slept with Temari. Wait...no...I didn't sleep with Temari...I just slept with her...No I just...oi...troublesome..._

The shades across the room were drawn, but he could tell the sun had risen just enough for visibility. Shikamaru heard three more knocks against the door. He sighed. This was only his third day in Suna and yet again there was another early morning visitor at his apartment knocking on the door.

He carefully pulled his feet out of the warm bed and placed them on the cool wooden floors. Shikamaru lifted himself out of the bed and started walking toward the bedroom door. Temari rolled over in the bed and nestled further in the soft cotton sheets.

Shikamaru padded out of the room and left the bedroom door open as he walked to the front door. He glanced at the metallic plated clock in the living room; it read 6:45. He groaned loudly.

_What the hell? Who the hell is knocking at my door at damned six in the morning?..._

Shikamaru rubbed his eyes and groped for the doorknob to open to front door. The morning sun warmed his bare chest as he opened the door. His sleepy eyes drooped momentarily, and he didn't bother to open them to see who was on the other side of the door.

"O-oi...do you know what time it is?" Shikamaru asked in an annoyed voice.

"Six forty-seven a.m." A cool voice replied.

Opening his eyes, Shikamaru found himself face to face with Kankuro.

"K-kankuro..." Shikamaru replied in a surprised voice.

"Mornin'. Seems I woke you up."

"Eheh...hai..."

"Sorry about coming so early and stuff. Mind if I come in for a minute?"

_Actually...I do mind. I'd like to go to back to bed..._

"Sure..." Shikamaru replied hesitantly.

Closing the door behind him, a disturbing thought entered his mind. He was still rather groggy at the time he got out of bed to answer the door, and when he left the quarters he had forgotten to close the bedroom door. Shikamaru's blood froze in his veins, and he felt his heart drop into his bowels. Temari was sleeping in his room. Should Temari wake up and come out of the room, or even if Kankuro passed by the room, he should consider himself a **dead** man.

Shikamaru had fought countless battles in his life as a shinobi. He had encountered all types of enemies and all sorts of weapons and somehow even if the odds were against him, he managed to come out on top. Well at least majority of the time. At those times, he had his wits and strength to aid him. Now, he was in another situation where the odds were truly _stacked _against him, but this time his strength couldn't help him. He only had this intellect to get him out of this.

_Argh, how did I get myself into this? Kankuro is going to __kill __me. Then he's going to tell Gaara what he saw and Gaara will resurrect me, torture me, and __**kill**__ me... AGAIN. This is all troublesome Temari's fault. Why did she have to leave that damned hospital? Curse that troublesome woman..._

Shikamaru felt his stomach churn at the thought of either Gaara or Kankuro finding out. He groaned inwardly. Hadn't his father warned him about this awhile ago? He scratched his head and his father's words came back to his memory.

"_Son, I'm going to give you one piece of advice to live by. A stronger ninja isn't something to fear. Beware the wiles of women, especially strong women. They might not mean it but somehow they will get you in situations you never imagined you could __ever__ be in."_

His father's wise words echoed in his mind. One phrase particularly stuck out to him at this moment. "_They might not mean it but, somehow they will get you in situations..."_ At that moment Shikamaru truly understood what a valuable piece of wisdom his father had bestowed upon him.

_The old man knew what he was talking about._

He knew Temari wasn't tricking him in any sort of way. The current turn of events just happened to come out that way.

"Shikamaru are you ok? You look kinda pale...are you getting dehydrated here or something?" Kankuro asked. "Heh, just can't take the Suna sun can you? Make sure you drink water so you don't get heatstroke or something. Wouldn't want anything bad happening to you while you're here."

_Yeah...me either..._

Kankuro was still in the entranceway of the apartment. All he had to do was to keep him out of the living room. There was a clear view of his room from the living room. If he could do that, he would be golden.

_Ok, just pretend it's a game of shogi. It's all in the strategy. Yeah, I'll take it as a challenge._

"So Kankuro...what brings you here?" Shikamaru asked in his usual cool voice.

"Temari proposed this. Actually, she just went ahead and made it." Pulling something from his pocket, Kankuro handed over a small piece of metal, similar to the metal on the forehead protectors. The Suna and Konoha emblem were both emblazed on either sides of the metal.

"What's this?"

"This just shows that you're here in Suna on official business. You know, so someone doesn't think you're a missing nin hiding out in Suna or something.

_It couldn't wait until later? Like when I'm not sleeping..._

"I see." Shikamaru took the small metal plate from Kankuro. It felt cool against his warm palm.

"Sorry I came so early. I was supposed to drop if off yesterday, but I forgot in the chaos with my missing sister." Kankuro rolled his eyes. Gaara and I know she's probably fine, but it's rather annoying of her to pull a stunt like this.

"Yeah. Gaara paid me a visit yesterday morning and told me you guys were looking for her."

"Indeed. Temari is truly something else."

**-------------**

The sound of voices brought Temari out of her peaceful sleep. She blinked and yawned. The strange surroundings threw her off for a moment, but then she realized where she was. Rolling over she noticed Shikamaru wasn't in the bed anymore.

_Weird...it's too early for that slacker to be awake._

The voices became more distinct as the sleepiness left her. Listening closely, she made out Shikamaru's voice and one other oddly familiar voice.

_Kankuro..._

Why would Kankuro be in Shikamaru's apartment? Was he looking for her? How we he know that she was here?

_He turned me in! That lying bastard Shikamaru. He told me he didn't tell anyone._

After listening a bit longer, she heard Kankuro saying how it didn't matter if Temari was the oldest. She still acted rashly like a child sometimes. She also heard Shikamaru remark that he agreed that she could be pretty troublesome.

She was quite annoyed, but then Temari smirked to herself. It was true, Shikamaru was a genius, but she too was rather cunning... After all, two could play at this game.

**-------------**

Shikamaru talked with Kankuro for a few more minutes before Kankuro took his leave.

"I'll be seeing you Shikamaru."

"Yeah."

"Oh, if you happen to find my reckless sister anywhere..."

"Don't worry. I'll get in touch with you or Gaara if I see her."

"Heh, thanks." Kankuro turned around and left. Shikamaru locked the door behind him.

_That was close. Too close._

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't even want to think about what could have happened if Kankuro had discovered the scantily clad Temari in his bed.

A tired Shikamaru retreated back to the bedroom. His eye twitched at what he saw in the room. Everything _but_ Temari.

_She's probably in the bathroom._

He went and laid face down on the bed. The sheets felt cool against his cheek. Breathing into the sheets, he noticed Temari's distinct sweet honey scent intermingled with the scent of the clean cotton. It was a pleasant smell. It reminded him of spring in Konoha when the honeysuckle flowers were in full bloom and their scent permeated the air.

It had been awhile since he had been in the room, and he still hadn't heard from Temari. Shikamaru walked across the room and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Oi Temari...are you in here?"

A stale silence answered him.

"Tch don't be troublesome. This isn't funny. Oi Temari?"

_Fine, do whatever you want. Jeez women are such a pain in the ass sometimes._

Shikamaru returned to the bed and after a few moments, he began to feel drowsy again. He was almost asleep when he felt a draft against his back. He groaned and turned his head to see where the wind was coming from. Glancing at the far left of the room, he noticed that the window was slightly opened. Shikamaru willed himself out of the soft bed and got up to shut the window.

His hand was on the window when a thought occurred to him.

_Why would the window be open...?_

It only took him a few seconds to realize why the window was open. He hadn't opened it, and there was only one other person in the room who could have opened the window.

**-------------**

From the moment she realized Kankuro was in the apartment, Temari had been forming a strategy to get back at Shikamaru. She didn't even bother listening to the rest of the conversation. One thing that puzzled her was that Kankuro hadn't come in the room to get her. She thought it was strange, but he could always come back later to get her or something. That was the least of her concerns right now.

Temari had masked her chakra and was on top of the ceiling. The strain irritated her legs, but she had set the open window as a trap for Shikamaru and he had fallen for it.

_Oi...I never knew you to be this careless Shikamaru._

She watched him linger at the window. Her eyes wandered over the pale skin on his uncovered back. She unconsciously bit her lip as she readied herself for the attack.

**---------------**

Shikamaru stood by the window. His fingers traced the smooth wood that made up the window frame. He vaguely wondered if Temari had gone out through the open window. Maybe she heard Kankuro's voice and just left? Whatever, that woman just came and left at her own convenience anyway.

His mind was still meandering to and from different thoughts when he felt a crushing force drive him against the now closed window. The wind was momentarily knocked out of him as his mind tried to process just what had happened.

His mind was still in disarray when he felt his body being lifted up and thrown across the room. Shikamaru felt a foot pressing against his chest. His vision began clearing and he looked up at who had launched the unexpected assault.

His eyes met with Temari's blazing greenish blue eyes.

"What the _hell _are you_ doing_?" Shikamaru demanded.

"You lied."

"Lied about what? And that still does not answer my damn question."

"Why was Kankuro here? You told him didn't you?"

"Told him what?"

"You turned me in didn't you? Why else would he be here so early in the morning."

Shikamaru opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly held back.

"You know you women are such a pain in the ass sometimes. I never turned you in."

"But I heard both of you talking about me and everything."

"Baka. He was just telling me to keep an eye out if I saw you."

"But I heard you saying something about me being troublesome."

"Well, that's because you **are**." Shikamaru replied dryly. "Look at the way you're treating the person that fed you and gave you somewhere to stay. Not to mention I went out of my way just to help _you._ I don't go out of my way. I could have stayed a genin for the rest of my life for all I care. And on top of that, he only came to give me this." Shikamaru pulled out the metal plate from his pocket.

Temari took the metal and examined it closely. "Tch, it's the dual temporary citizenship plate I proposed to Gaara. I didn't know he wasn't actually going to use it."

"Cheh, I told you troublesome woman."

"So, they really don't know I'm here?"

"They don't know."

"Oh..."

"Now could you get off me?"

Temari took her foot off Shikamaru.

"Eheh...gomen..." She said sheepishly as he stood up. "I thought you lied or something."

Shikamaru shook his head. He ran a hand across his back and winced slightly at the pain.

"Damn when did you get so strong?"

"I've always been this strong." Temari replied in an annoyed voice.

"But not strong enough to take me down in a fight." Shikamaru said smirking.

"What? Says who?"

"Says the fact that every time we've fought, I've won."

"We've only fought _twice_. And both times you didn't want to fight me."

"I know. I somehow get roped into fighting you." Shikamaru said dryly.

"Heh, how about a spar right now?"

"Tch do you know what time it is? Decent people should still be asleep at this hour."

"Then I guess you aren't a decent person." Temari replied casually.

Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru decided it would be best for him to avoid getting into anything with Temari.

"I'm just decent _enough_, thank you."

"Suit yourself."

Temari sat down cross-legged on the floor. She leaned her head against the wall, closed her eyes and sighed quietly. "I guess I should be heading back soon."

Shikamaru had since made his way over to the bed and was attempting to sleep

"Mmmm." Shikamaru murmured softly.

She fingered the buttons on the shirt and vaguely wondered how her brothers would react to her suddenly reappearing.

_Gaara is probably in his office now. Kankuro is probably there too._

"Oi, Shikamaru?"

The shadow wielder did not answer.

"Shikamaru?"

"..."

"Oi, if you're ignoring me this isn't funny." She said in an irritated voice.

"..."

Temari stood up from where she was sitting and walked over to the bed.

Shikamaru was lying on his side with his eyes closed. His coffee brown hair splayed over his face while his chest gently rose and fell.

_He's asleep..._

Temari smiled to herself. Even in sleep his face kept his trademark look of indolence. Even though she wouldn't admit it to herself, part of her wanted to crawl back in the bed and go back to sleep. She lightly ran a slender finger across his bicep muscle and traced the outline.

Quietly closing the door behind her, Temari made her way into the kitchen. She found some paper and a pen and scribbled a note down for him to read later.

Temari glanced at the clock on the wall. It read 7:25. It was still early. Perfect. That meant she could race home before anyone saw her in _only_ a shirt since she had forgotten what Shikamaru did with the clothes she came with.

She put the note where she was sure he would find it and headed out the door.

**-----------------**

This house was silent as Temari entered. Gaara and Kankuro had already left. The calculations she made earlier were right on the dot. She walked up the wooden stairs to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Her first agenda would be to take a shower.

The tile floor cooled her feet as she entered the bathroom that was adjoined to her room. She opened the shower door and turned on the water. She stepped back out of the shower and began undressing. She held the cuff of the shirt Shikamaru had given her up to her nose. She would give this back to him...whenever. Placing the shirt on a towel rack, Temari stepped inside the steaming shower. Although the hot water stung the injuries on her thighs, it still felt good against her skin. Her mind bustled with thoughts of the past three days. She sighed for the umpteenth time that morning. What an interesting three days it had been.

Alone in the shower, she let the steaming water wash away all thoughts of Gaara, Kankuro, and a certain _other_ troublesome person.


	8. Chapter 8: Document Delivery

Disclaimer: -Sigh- No, I **still** don't own Naruto.

**A/N:** Alas, time for another chapter. This chapter took a little longer because I've been down with the flu for the past week and also because the FF server was on the fritz. It would have been up on Wednesday night, but because the server was on the fritz, there was the delay. Damn you FF server, lol. I hope this chapter came out ok. It was written in a NyQuil induced haze. Hahah. Thanks for all the great reviews I've been receiving. Hope everyone keeps reading and enjoying!

PS**: I** **am so so very sorry** for the delay with this chapter. I finally found a way to get a new chapter up and everything, and then I had the wrong chapter up. I was like grr... Anyway, now that I finally have my act together, everyone can enjoy the new chapter.

Chapter 8

**Document Delivery**

Temari stood at the entrance of the Kazekage tower. She wondered if she should enter in the way everyone else did, or just come in through the balcony like she usually did. A light wind caressed her face in the early morning sun. She sighed and decided it would be best for her to go in the normal way. It was the least she could do for running off.

Temari pushed past the heavy doors and walked into the busy office. She hadn't taken five steps before she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

"Temari-san!"

She turned around and found Gaara's secretary, Kana, running towards her.

"Temari-san you're alright!"

Temari motioned for her to lower her voice.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks Kana."

"Where have you been?! Kazekage-sama and Kankuro have been looking everywhere for you!"

Temari nodded.

_As if I didn't know._

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to talk to Gaara."

Kana nodded. "Well I'm sure he'd be happy to see you."

Temari smirked. Yes, Gaara would be relieved to see her, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be getting an earful from both of her brothers.

Temari turned and continued walking down the long hall.

"I'll see you later Kana."

She stopped in front of Gaara's door and hesitated.

_I wonder if he's mad..._

She raised her hand to knock when she heard the muffled voices of her brothers

"Gaara, as far as I'm concerned she's probably just fine. You know the kind of woman she is. She'll come back eventually. Temari has this childish obstinacy in her blood. "

"Kankuro I know. I just don't want her to do anything too rash."

"She is reckless, not brainless Gaara. Although, I still think she was stupid for running around with those injuries."

Leaning against the door, Temari smirked.

_Why do my brothers think they know better than me...I swear._

Temari backed away from the door and stretched. Her legs weren't fully healed, but they were good enough to do what she needed to do. She leaned on her left leg and threw her right leg into the door. She kicked the door in such a way that allowed the force to be evenly displaced all throughout it. It fell neatly off the hinges and slammed into the floor.

Kankuro dashed toward the door as soon as he realized something was wrong. He had taken a fighting stance, but was surprised to see who was at the opposite end of the falling door.

"T-Temari!?" He stated incredulously.

Other people in the building had heard the crash and rushed to the Kazekage's office.

"Temari-sama!"

"Temari-san you've returned!"

"Temari-sama where have you been?"

Temari was ignoring all their questions until she began to get annoyed with their barrage of inquiries. After a few seconds she turned around and lowered her eyes. "All of you are dismissed. Return to your stations."

Gaara glanced at the spectators and nodded. They took this as a signal to disperse and left quietly.

Kankuro stood watching his sister unable to find the correct words to describe his current feelings. After giving the initial clamor time to settle down, Temari opened her mouth and began to speak.

Standing directly under the door's threshold, Temari crossed her arms and stood looking confidently at both of her brothers. "First of all, before we speak about "childish obstinacy" let me remind you who the **eldes**t in this room is Kankuro. Secondly, let it be known that I am more than capable enough to take care of myself." Stepping over the dismembered door on the floor, she walked past Kankuro and threw him a knowing glance. Temari stopped directly in front of Gaara and firmly planted her palms on his desk.

"Temari."

"Gaara."

A lengthy pause settled in between them after their short introductions. Finally, unable to withhold his curiosity of his sister's whereabouts any longer, Gaara broke the silence.

"Where have you been these past..." Gaara paused and held up three of his fingers. "These past three days?"

"Out." Temari replied curtly. "Am I not allowed to go out, _little_ brother?"

Putting his fingers down, Gaara crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. Knowing the type of woman his sister was, he thought about how to proceed with things.

"Where did you stay?"

"Around."

"_Around_?!" Kankuro replied in disbelief. "You jump out of your hospital window with a critical injury in your thigh, and all you say is that you've been **around**?"

Temari turned and simply nodded.

"What the hell..." Kankuro muttered.

"Fine. We'll discuss this later. You're dismissed Temari." Gaara said calmly.

Temari inwardly grimaced. Gaara had been disturbingly calm which meant she would probably be getting an earful later at home when he returned from work. Not to mention Kankuro. He was going to bust her ass too. She bowed and began walking out the room. Temari was adjacent to what used to be the door when Gaara stopped her.

"Oh, by the way Temari."

"Hmm?"

"You will be fixing that door." Gaara narrowed his eyes and glanced from the door on the floor to Temari.

"Of course..."

**---------------**

Gaara settled in casually on the couch in their spacious house. The work day was over and it was now well into the night. All three siblings had eaten and were now lounging in their living room. Kankuro was sprawled out on the floor tuning up his puppets and Temari was curled up on the other couch reading a book. Gaara was now ready to pursue asking Temari's whereabouts during her absence.

"Temari." Gaara coolly called to her.

"Hmmm?" She mumbled uninterestedly.

"How is your injury?"

"My legs are fine."

"Legs? I thought you only had something wrong with one of your legs." Kankuro asked from his position on the floor.

_Shit, they don't know about the stab injury._

"Yeah...but my other leg has been cramping up." Temari replied quickly.

"Oh, ok." Kankuro mumbled still occupied with his puppets.

"Temari." Gaara called to her again.

"Yes, Gaara?"

"Where did you stay for the three days while you were gone?"

"Nowhere in particular."

"Is that so?"

Temari looked up from her book and nodded. Gaara was interested in knowing about his sisters 'excursion' but doubted he would get any information from her by the way she was responding. He settled back into the couch and crossed his arms.

"Alright then." Gaara said after a brief silence.

Temari closed her book and stood up from the couch. "I'm going to bed."

Kankuro waved a goodnight to Temari from where he was sitting.

"Good night to you too Kankuro."

She was almost to her room when she heard Gaara call her name. Temari backtracked and stood in front of Gaara.

"Yes?"

"I forgot to tell you. In two weeks, you'll be going on a mission. I would send you immediately, but I'm putting your injury into consideration. At least_ I'm_ considerate of my siblings." Gaara said with a biting edge in his voice.

"Ok, what kind of mission?"

"Document delivery."

"Document..._delivery_? What is it ranked?" She asked hesitantly.

"It's a C level mission."

Temari rolled her eyes. Gaara knew he could have sent a chuunin on a mission as simple as this.

"Why do I have to do it? There are plenty of other eligible chuunin."

"You're doing it because I want you to do it."

Temari clenched her fists. It suddenly dawned on her that this was some sort of punishment from Gaara for her running off. She knew she deserved to be reprimanded, but this was disgraceful. A C ranked mission?! For her?! And to top if off it was document delivery. Hell, that's what courier shinobi were for.

"Gaara, I'm not going accept a C rank mission. You know that is well above my abilities."

"Temari." Gaara replied calmly. "You forget that _you_ may be the oldest, but _I_ am the **Kazekage** of this village. You will do what I tell you to do. Meaning, you _will_ accept this mission, whether **you** like it or not. Understood?"

Temari stared blankly at him. She had just been served by her little brother. The worst part was she _had_ to listen to him. Regardless of her being related to him, disobeying the Kazekage's orders was not something you did not do. No matter who you were.

Her eyes flashed and she opened her mouth to say something, but Gaara's threatening glance halted her thoughts. Fuming, she turned around and marched up the stairs to her room. Not only was she irritated that she was just ordered a C rank mission against her will, but it was the fact that Gaara was _punishing_ that was the most infuriating. _Gaara_? Punishing **her**?!

_Damnit Gaara, giving me a C rank? What the hell kind of bullshit is that? Bullshit!_

She shut the door to her room a little louder than necessary, just to show Gaara she was angry.

"Gaara, she's pretty mad at you." Kankuro said still fiddling with his puppets.

"I know." Gaara replied with a slight smirk on his face. "Just because I didn't seem like I wasn't annoyed at her for running off doesn't mean she wasn't going to pay for it."

"I think she would have been happier if you gave her a D rank." Kankuro said chuckling.

"Probably. A C rank stings more just because it's right in the middle."

"Damn...you are dangerous person. Remind me never to mysteriously disappear from a hospital the next time I'm injured." Kankuro said in an amused tone.

"Of course."

Still livid, Temari tossed countless pillows into the wall and floor hoping to alleviate her anger. After she had exhausted most of her anger, she retrieved a pillow and lay on her bed. Placing a hand on her forehead, she sighed.

_Since when is Gaara my father?_

A knock on her door disrupted her thoughts.

"What?!" She demanded.

"If I come in, can you guarantee that I'll come out alive?" A teasing voice said through the door.

"Shut up Kankuro."

He opened the door and made his way past the many pillows that now decorated the floor. Stopping by the edge of her bed, he crossed his arms and tried to suppress a laugh.

"What the hell is so funny?"

He sighed. Temari might have been the oldest, but watching her exhibit a full scale temper tantrum was priceless. He would file this away for later.

"Temari, don't make this any harder than it has to be. I mean, it's just a C rank. It'll be a piece of cake for you."

"Just a C rank? _Just_ a C rank!? Kankuro, when was the last time you went on a C rank mission?"

"Well you know I-"

"Answer the question."

"Come on this isn't about me. You shou-"

"Would you just answer the damn question!"

"Fine! It's been eight years alright, jeez."

Temari nodded. "Eight years? Why don't you add three years to that for me. That was the **last** time I went on a C ranked mission."

Kankuro sighed again and sat down next to his sister.

"Temari, you know Gaara is just doing this because he's looking out for you."

"Kankuro, I am a full grown woman. I can take care of myself! I _do not_ need to be punished by my brother!"

Seeing there was no way to reconcile with his sister at the moment, Kankuro placed a hand on her shoulder and stood up to leave.

"If you stay mad too long, you'll give yourself wrinkles. You wouldn't want to get ugly, now would you?" He said jokingly.

Temari tried to hold back a smile, but Kankuro's comment broke the surface of her anger.

"Alright, fine." She replied in a somewhat defeated tone.

He smiled and closed her door quietly. She leaned back in her bed and closed her eyes. No matter how many times she said it to herself, _document delivery_ left a bitter taste in her mouth every time.


	9. Chapter 9: Oversleeping

Disclaimer: Iie...Miyori doesn't own Naruto. –Sadness-

**A/N**: Hey guys. I put this new chapter on top priority because my last chapter was very much delayed –cough FanFictions server's fault cough-. I hope I am still loved by my readers despite everything. Also, I had a flood of PM's and questions about the whole deal with chapter 8 being chapter 7. Kayutori shall now explain the situation. While the FF servers were down, I did some researching about alternate ways of uploading chapters. Apparently you can export a previous chapter and edit it into your new chapter. Let's just say that didn't work with me. Thus, the horrid repeat of chapter 7 occurred. Alas, the servers have started working again, and I'm back on track. One thing I would like to mention though, **I always post updates in my profile **about the story and such things. If you have a question about something, feel totally free to PM me, but before you do that, just drop by my profile. The answer to your question might be in there. Now now, don't get the idea that I don't want to hear from you guys. Getting PM's from my readers always brightens my day, but it responding to 15+ PM's gets tedious after awhile. Anywho, there are a few more chapters in the story, and I hope everyone keeps reading and reviewing. I've already started working on my next story featuring out favorite pairing, so hope everyone looks forward to that too. Now that all of that boring business is out of the way, I just wanted to say that I've reached over 50 reviews for my story! Wow everyone, thanks for all your feedback. That's pretty shiggity if I do say so myself.

Chapter 9

**Oversleeping**

Temari ran a slender had through her hair and took in the scenery from the roof of the Kazekage tower. Two weeks swiftly had swiftly passed from the time she had been ordered on her mission. The thought of her mission had finally settled with her. One thing had been popping up in her mind over the past two weeks though. Shikamaru. She had seen him here and there around the town, but there hadn't been any significant communication. Some part of her wanted to find him and talk to him, but something always drew her back.

_Oh well. I wonder if he's angry at me? I guess it was rude of me just leaving like that and not saying anything, but maybe he isn't? Maybe he's busy? Yeah, he is here on shinobi exchange. It's not like he's here to play around..._

As strange as it might have sounded, she secretly missed his scent. If she were to be completely honest, she couldn't say that she didn't enjoy sharing the bed with him that night.

"What am I thinking?!" She said aloud to herself as she shook her head and attempted to rid herself of her thoughts and the deep blush that had now overtaken her face.

"Well, I don't know what you're thinking, that's for sure." A familiar deep voice replied from behind her.

Turning around Temari rubbed her cheeks and tried to hide the fierce blush on her face. "Oh, it's you Kankuro."

"Yeah. What's up with you? Why is your face all red?"

"I'm j-just hot. I've been on the roof for awhile." Temari fibbed. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. She _had_ been on the roof for over thirty minutes now.

"Hmm, are you _sure_? Not thinking some less than innocent thoughts now are we?"

"W-what are you talking about?!"

_Oh my gosh...how does he know these things!?_

Laughing, Kankuro sat down next to his sister. "I was just kidding you know. Unless you have some confessions to make or something..."

"Whatever. Don't you have anything better to do than harass me? When was the last time you went on a mission? You really should stop aimlessly perambulating around the vicinity you know."

"Oi, oi get off my case Temari. I'm just taking a break. Speaking of missions, yours is tomorrow isn't it?"

"Yeah. I'm heading off to the Rain County bright and early tomorrow. Hopefully, I can make it a one day mission."

"Maybe. Just don't do anything reckless."

"Reckless? Pssh, Kankuro come on."

"Ehem. Who exactly was it that randomly disappeared from her hospital room? **With** injuries?"

"..."

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't me, and I know for a fact it certainly wasn't Gaara."

"..."

"I'm sorry what was that Temari? I didn't hear your response."

"Would you give that up Kankuro? Jeez, it's not like I was battered up when I came back."

"Yeah I know." He replied in an annoyed tone. "Now that I think about it, you were in pretty good shape when you decided to bring your ass back home. Wherever you went during those three days, you were taken care of rather well."

Temari smirked. She knew he was going to ask again for the one millionth time where she went.

"Where_ did_ you go Temari?"

"Beloved brother Kankuro, that is _none_ of your concern."

"Aww come on Temari."

Temari shook her head.

_I'll never tell. Hahahah._

"How about we strike a deal?" He said in a low voice while narrowing his eyes to slits and looking over his shoulder suspiciously.

"A deal?" Temari replied dryly.

"Yeah...you tell me where you went, and I won't say a word about it to Gaara. How about it? That sound good?

Temari nodded her head and leaned in to whisper in Kankurou's ear. "Yeah, that sounds absolutely..." She brought her lips closer and cupped her hand around his ear. "It sounds absolutely...**idiotic.**"

Temari jumped up and walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Kankuro staring blankly at her. Chuckling to herself, she made her way down the stairs that led back into the building.

_I wonder if there are any last minutes things I should see Gaara about for the mission._

Turning on her heels, she started walking in the direction of her brother's office. She was about to knock on the newly fixed door when it swung open.

"Oi Temari..."

"S-Shikamaru?" She replied in a surprised tone.

For a moment, neither of the two spoke. Temari felt the blood rush to her face at the remembrance of their previous encounters.

"Well then Gaara, I'll be seeing you." Shikamaru finally said as he turned around and waved with the scroll in his hand. He nodded at Temari as he left. "I'll see you tomorrow Temari."

A confused expression crossed her face at what he just said.

"Tomorrow?"

She turned around to ask him what he meant, but by that time he was already down the hall.

"Gaara what does he mean by tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow generally means the day after today."

Temari rolled her eyes. She was not amused at Gaara's attempt at humor.

"I know** that** Gaara. I'm leaving early for the mission; I won't be seeing anybody tomorrow."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Shikamaru is going to be going with you on your mission. Tsunade-sama also needed to send something to the Rain Country, and since Shikamaru is here in Suna she decided to just send it with him. In addition to that, I just thought it would make sense if you two just went at once. It would be more efficient that way."

Temari stared blankly at her brother. After the initial surprise, Temari began laughing. The irony of the situation was quite humorous. Gaara was sending _her_ on a mission with _Shikamaru_.

While watching his sister's laughter, a puzzled looked crossed Gaara's face.

"What's so funny Temari?"

_If only he knew._

"Nothing Gaara. Nothing at all..."

"Right..."

Calming herself down, Temari remembered why she had come to see him in the first place.

"Oh, I came to see if there was anything I needed to see you about before I leave tomorrow?"

Gaara shook his head. "I gave you the scroll earlier and that was all I had for you."

"Alright, thanks Gaara."

"And Temari?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't fight with Shikamaru the entire way to Rain."

"Heh, hai hai Gaara. What's next? Are you going to be lecturing me on being nice to other kunoichi in the sandbox on the playground?" She said teasingly.

"I hoped it wouldn't have to come to that..."

She waved off his comments and left the room. Tomorrow's mission would certainly be an interesting one.

**----------------**

Shikamaru wandered around his apartment. Glancing to the clock on the wall, he noted it was 10:57 p.m. He knew he should have been sleeping by now, but his mind was restless. Of all things, he was going on a mission with troublesome Temari. Apparently, she had kept her brothers from finding out her whereabouts during her temporary absence. Shikamaru shivered at the thought of Gaara finding out.

He settled down on his couch and stared at the ceiling. He groaned at the thought of having to leave early for the mission. Gaara informed him on Temari's insisting on leaving at 4:30 a.m. Geography wasn't his best subject, but he was very sure the Rain Country wasn't too far away. It was one day's journey at most. He sighed again.

_Sabaku no Temari._

He rolled off his couch and walked back to the bedroom. Even if he couldn't, he would attempt to sleep. After all, he wasn't ready to be eaten alive by Temari because he overslept.

_Feh, troublesome missions. _

**----------------**

Shikamaru blinked and froze in his bed. The sound of something resembling footsteps had interrupted his sleep. He guessed it was somewhere around one or two in the morning.

_Damnit. Am I hearing things?_

Listening closely, his suspicions were confirmed. There _was_ someone in the apartment. All thoughts of sleep immediately disappeared as he noiselessly jumped out of bed and stalked towards the door of his room.

_The footsteps are light. It must be a smaller person._

The sound of the footsteps became louder as the intruder neared his room. Wasting no time, he flung the door open and tackled the early morning intruder. He wrestled the stranger to the floor and pinned the person down.

"What are you doing in my apartment?" Shikamaru demanded in a low voice.

Several seconds of silence passed. For a moment, something didn't feel quite right to Shikamaru. He couldn't see the person's face in the dark, but he the physical build didn't match up to what he had predicted. Another thing was that the stranger smelled peculiarly familiar. He couldn't exactly place what it was, but he knew he smelt it before recently.

"Shikamaru..."

Shikamaru halted. _That_ voice only belonged to **one** person.

"Temari?! What are you doing here?"

"Shikamaru...do you know what time it is?" She replied in a disturbingly calm voice.

"Why the hell are you asking me what time it is? You're the one breaking into my house in the middle of the night."

Shikamaru saw Temari's aquamarine eyes flash in the darkness.

"Do you realize that we were supposed to have left an HOUR ago?!"

"Leave? Leave for wha- oh...the mission."

"**Exactly**. I waited for over one hour. Not only am I damned to a C ranked mission, but now we're late! I can't believe you overslept Shikamaru."

"Sorry."

"Whatever."

Shikamaru sighed to himself.

_Great, now she's pissed off at me. _

"Would you mind getting off me now Shikamaru?"

"R-right."

Shikamaru quickly turned around and tried to hide the blush on his face.

"S-sorry. I wouldn't have attacked if I knew it was you."

"Whatever. Just get your things together so we can go. We can still make up for lost time if we hurry."

Shikamaru nodded and retreated to the bedroom. He was glad to have a few moments to himself. Pinning Temari to the ground was...rather _interesting_. Even if it had only been for a few seconds his thoughts were beginning to turn on him. Temari was too attractive for her own good.

_What a troublesome way to start off the morning._

Temari leaned against the wall in the living room. It seemed every time she was with Shikamaru the two of them were always ended up in compromising positions. She vaguely wondered if he heard her thundering heart while he was on top of her. She covered her face with her hands and took in a deep breath. She would need to keep herself under control.

"Ok, I'm ready." Shikamaru emerged from the room in his customary shinobi clothing and a small pack on his back.

Temari nodded and they both walked out of the apartment.

"By the way, Temari?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you get into my apartment anyway?"

"Oh, heh I broke down the door."

"You did _what_?"

"Oh, don't worry about it Shikamaru. I didn't break it off the hinges."

He smirked at the deadly kunoichi walking next to him. He watched her graceful figure leap from the trees as they left Suna and embarked on what they believed would be another ordinary mission.


	10. Chapter 10: Temptation

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I do own a very spanky Creative Zen MicroPhoto mp3 player. Creative Zen is your friend.

**A/N:** My my, updating time. I'm hoping by the time I post this that the FF email alerts are working again. Ah well, FanFiction will get it together eventually. I'd like to thank all the readers for their comments on chapter 9. Even though the alerts weren't working, you still came on your own initiative. That puts a warm, fuzzy spot in the black hole that's supposedly my heart. xD. I hope everyone enjoys reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I made a quick edit to this chapter and the last one. The story said Shikamaru and Temari were being sent on a mission to Mist, but I changed that to the Rain Country instead. Geographically, Rain is much closer to Suna that Mist. Thanks to **GirlLoki** for pointing that out to me. Eheh, forgive my error. Your reviews are very much appreciated.

Chapter 10

**Temptation**

Temari shielded her eyes from the bright sun overhead. After her early morning visit to Shikamaru neither shinobi wasted any time while they were traveling. Luckily for them, the weather had been in their favor. It was a little warm, but nothing they couldn't handle. They arrived in Rain on time and delivered the scrolls they were sent with. Temari smiled as she and Shikamaru sat in a small ramen shop eating lunch.

"Even though we left an hour late, we made excellent time Shikamaru."

"I know. We didn't stop for anything." He said while swirling his chopsticks around in the light colored broth in the ramen bowl. "

"Well, it was all for a good reason wasn't it?"

_Sure, but we didn't even stop when I had to go to the bathroom. What a tyrant this woman is._

Shikamaru merely nodded.

"Well, since it's still a good time, I think we should head back to Suna."

"Head back to Suna? Why? We could just stay at an inn here tonight."

"Why stay at an inn when we can just go back home?"

"Because it would be troublesome to go back home; and besides look at the sky." Shikamaru said as he motioned to the sky with his chopsticks. "It looks like it's going to rain."

"Rain? No way. There are only a few clouds in the sky, and those are probably just summer clouds."

Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. "Trust me Temari. I know clouds. They look white and fluffy now, but in a matter of hours it's going to rain. Judging from the size of them, it's probably going to be a pretty big storm."

Temari set her chopsticks aside and looked at him. Shikamaru looked down from the sky and locked eyes with Temari's aquamarine orbs. A smirk tugged on her well developed lips.

"Shikamaru...we're leaving after we finish eating here." She said firmly, while putting an emphasis on the word 'leaving.'

The shadow wielder shrugged and reached for his chopsticks only to be intercepted by Temari's quick fingers.

"Oi, give me back my chopsticks troublesome woman."

"Hmm, only if you agree to us going home."

"It doesn't matter. Just give them back so I can finish eating."

Temari handed the chopsticks back with a smug look on her face.

"Hurry up so we can go. If you hurry we might be able to arrive in Suna before midnight."

Shikamaru scowled lightly and resumed eating. He would have argued his point with Temari more, but after all, this was him.

The two shinobi finished their food and set out to travel back to Suna. Shikamaru grimaced at the sky while crossing the village gates. The once white and attractive clouds were beginning to gather and form into the makings of grey thunderclouds.

_This is the Rain Country after all..._

He fell in step with Temari and watched her walk. Her hair had been taken out their trademark ponytails and was left flowing in the wind. Her aquamarine eyes squinted slightly in the sun while she walked.

_I wonder if we'll be able to get to Suna tonight. I hope Shikamaru was wrong about the rain_.

Temari hated being wrong; especially when the other person was someone like Shikamaru. It wasn't that she disliked Shikamaru, but there was something about him that she couldn't describe. Something that made her feel funny. Back during the chuunin exams it was the fact that he had the advantage over her that fueled her against him. Now it was...what was it about him? After thinking for a few minutes, she came to one conclusion. Now, it was everything about him that lit her fire. She had been suppressing it for the past two weeks, but being alone with Shikamaru was making certain feelings creep again. She still could not rid herself of the image of a shirtless Shikamaru.

Temari shook her head and took a deep breath. This was silly of her. It was just Shikamaru. Granted, he was attractive, but nothing more than that. She began walking faster and smirked. Sabaku no Temari was not such an easy woman to conquer.

Shikamaru lifted his gaze from Temari and gazed lazily at his surroundings.

_The forest is so monotonous. It's the same old grass, twigs, moss, and trees._

The sound of twigs snapping captured Temari's attention. Her eyes quickly darted back and forth, while she took in her surroundings. She detected movement in the trees and after a few more moments, it began to set her on edge. Temari continued walking but motioned for Shikamaru to remain quiet. The calm forest allowed her to pick out any foreign chakra. It was very faint, but sure enough it was there.

She feigned a smile and leaned in towards Shikamaru and pressed herself against him.

"O-oi T-Temari what are you doing?"

"Oh there's just something by your ear Shikamaru." She said as she positioned herself and made it look like she was brushing something off him.

"Don't move; make this seem convincing." She said in a low tone as she continued to wipe away the imaginary object. "I noticed another chakra in the vicinity. I don't know if they're friendly or not, but it's another shinobi. Just be ready."

Shikamaru nodded and smiled lightly. "Thanks for getting the bug off me Temari." He was surprised. Temari's performance had been flawless. Anyone watching would not have noticed her

quickly whisper in Shikamaru's ear. Temari had gotten so close; he could feel her supple breasts press against his arm. Shikamaru inwardly berated himself. This was not the time to be thinking of his physical desires. Lately, his body seemed to have a mind of its own, and Temari in her well fitted jounin uniform was not helping either. This was unlike him, but then again he hadn't been with a woman in quite awhile. This couldn't go on for much longer though. If he wasn't careful, his body would get the better of him.

Setting his current thoughts aside, he casually rested his hands on his weapon holster. If the need came to fight, he would be ready.

Almost instantly, a shuriken whizzed past his ear. Apparently, his last action seemed to set their enemy on edge. Shikamaru quickly dodged it as Temari jumped away from his side and spread out her fan. They both took fighting stances and cautiously watched the trees. The enemy wasn't too far away.

Temari tried to find their opponent by searching out his chakra. This time, it was masked completely.

"Oi, come out. We know where you are." Shikamaru bluffed. This tactic only worked some of the time, and it only worked on the less intelligent ninja. It was supposed to make the enemy unsure of their hidden position. Then they would senselessly send out a barrage of weapons, alerting the other shinobi of their position.

Two kunai were sent out from a large tree on his right. He almost couldn't believe the enemy had fallen for such a simple trick. He dashed and jumped into the sturdy branches of the tree. Shikamaru smirked and pressed his back against the tree in order to conceal himself, unknown to him that _he_ had fallen into the enemy's trap.

Temari noticed something bright red and white wrapped around a thin branch in the tree Shikamaru was in. Realizing what it was, she yelled for him jump from the tree.

"Shikamaru! An exploding tag!"

But it was too late. By the time Shikamaru realized what she was saying, the tag exploded sending deafening shockwaves throughout the once still forest. Temari jumped back and braced herself for the impact. She covered her face and tried to keep the debris from entering her nostrils. Giving the smoke time to clear, Temari readied her fan and stepped out from her hiding place. Before she could call out to Shikamaru, she felt a hand clamp over her mouth and a foreign arm wrap tightly around her, harshly pressing her arms against her sides. Her fan dropped on the ground while her eyes narrowed to slits. The person behind her would regret that action.

She bent her knees and flipped backward. The unexpected movement temporarily startled the attacker giving her an opening to attack. She only had on opportunity to do this, and she had to do it perfectly. Freeing one of her hands, she grabbed his arm and tossed him into the air. Sending the chakra down into her legs, she sprinted up the side of a tree and launched herself into the air. Temari met up with the man midair and forcefully kicked him in the stomach. Not giving him time to recuperate, she planted another kick in his chest. The other shinobi landed on the ground with a loud thud and remained motionless.

Slightly breathless, Temari landed in a crouching position. Close combat wasn't her preference, but it was necessary at times. She massaged her arms and sighed. Her opponent could stand to lose a few pounds. She cautiously stepped away from the man's body and hoped he would be down for the count.

She turned her side to the other nin and surveyed the forest. The exploding tag had destroyed some of the trees, leaving her position somewhat exposed. The once bright blue sky was slowing beginning to turn dark.

"Don't let it rain.." She thought inwardly.

She had to find Shikamaru. Temari sighed and let out a quiet breath.

_And this was supposed to be a C ranked mission. Funny huh?_

She was about to move, when a sharp pain shot up her upper leg. It was the same leg she injured while fighting the missing nin Suna.

_Why is this leg giving me trouble? It's supposed to be healed already._

She leaned down and hurriedly tried to remedy the pain by briskly rubbing her hand over her thigh. If not for the pain in her leg, she would have noticed the chakra of the shinobi behind her. The man had awoken, and was silently stalking toward her with a kunai in his hand.

Temari heard the rustle of leaves and felt her muscles tense. She slowly turned around and saw the man that was passed out on the ground just seconds ago now lunging at her with a kunai. She quickly tried to form a plan of defense. She felt the tip of the man's kunai graze the skin on her neck when she suddenly felt herself being forcefully pushed out of the way. Her vision blurred as she hit the ground. Looking up, she saw Shikamaru in the spot she had been in just seconds ago.

She saw his lips move while his hands effortlessly formed signs. The opposing shinobi was now under the mercy of Shikamaru's Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu. Shadows in the shape of hands were creeping up his body and clasping firmly around his neck. Shikamaru's face was smudged from the ash of the previous explosion, and his ever friendly eyes were narrowed and locked on the man in front of him.

While watching Shikamaru, Temari noticed blood seeping from a gash on his right arm. Shikamaru pushed her out of the way, but the slash on his arm was the price he paid.

True to the shadow wielder's predictions, the sky had now darkened completely and thunder boomed in the distance. Large rain drops fell from the sky while lighting crackled overhead. She placed her hand on her neck, only to feel something warm trickling down it. Temari wiped a finger against it and was surprised to find blood on her fingers. She gasped quietly. If Shikamaru hadn't pushed her away at that moment, she probably wouldn't be alive right now.

The loud thunder reverberated through the forest causing Temari to shudder. She watched the shadow appendages continue to strangle the man until he collapsed. She stood up and held her hands against her chest. Shikamaru wore a serious expression and his eyes were still narrowed. He saw her stand up out of the corner of his eye. Shikamaru turned to her and nodded. The rain pounded against them mercilessly as she quickly picked up her belongings and walked towards him.

"Follow me." She heard him yell through the loud rain as he sprinted ahead of her.

Temari glanced and the man on the floor before running after Shikamaru. The cold, wet rain made traveling uncomfortable but Temari continued after Shikamaru. After a few minutes of dashing in the rain, Shikamaru stopped in front of some medium sized bushes. He pushed them away, revealing the entrance to a small cave. The two shinobi quickly entered the dark cavern. Shikamaru leaned against a wall and slid to the ground. He closed his eyes and tried to control his heavy breaths. The pain in his arm was increasing.

Temari heard his labored breaths and crouched next to him.

"Are you alright?"

She felt his head nod slightly.

"Temari, do you have matches? We need to build a fire."

Temari turned away from him and groped around in the dark for the pack she brought with her. She attempted to warm herself by briskly rubbing her arms. Her wet clothes were making her shiver. She crossed her fingers and hopped she had packed the matches. Since this was a C ranked mission, she hadn't packed seriously. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as her fingers felt the small plastic bag that contained her matches. She was lucky. She'd never had a reason to use them before, so they remained in her bag mission after mission. Even though the pack was drenched with water, the plastic bag they were in managed to keep the matches relatively dry.

"Shikamaru, I found the matches."

"Good, now all we need to do is find something dry that we can burn."

Temari groaned. Currently all of her belongings were saturated in water. She had just come out from the midst of a typhoon...

"I don't have anything dry. Do you?"

Shikamaru didn't reply. He knew that **had** to have something to burn.

"The scroll..." He murmured in a low tone.

"The scroll? What scroll?" Temari asked in a puzzled tone.

"I received a scroll from the leader of Mist to give to Tsunade-sama."

She heard Shikamaru shifting around in the dark and the unzipping of his pack.

"Is it still dry Shikamaru?"

"The first few layers are a little damp, but we still have some dry portions. It will work for what we need to do. Can you hand me the matches?"

"Sure." Temari handed him and matches and sighed quietly. This was turning out very differently than what she had envisioned. The rain continued to pour heavily outside, but luckily the shrubbery by the entrance of the cave kept the water out.

A bright orange flame spread the thick darkness away and illuminated the cave.

"Finally." She heard Shikamaru mutter in a relieved tone.

"You got it to work."

"Yeah, thanks to the scroll. Tsunade-sama won't be too mad." He said with a chuckle.

"Heh, it was for a good purpose."

A lengthy pause reigned in the cave for almost ten minutes. The flame had now grown considerably and was developing into a good sized fire.

"You should probably get out of your wet clothes Temari. Did you bring something to change into?"

Temari shook her head. "I thought it was going to be a same day mission."

Shikamaru smirked. For some reason, he wasn't surprised at her actions. "Troublesome Temari..." He said with a chuckle.

"Tch, don't even start with that Shikamaru." She said slightly annoyed.

"Well, I only brought one change of clothes. You can have the shirt while your clothes dry."

"Thanks."

Shikamaru pulled a large black shirt out of his pack and handed it to Temari.

"Hey...can you turn around so I can change?"

Shikamaru quickly turned around.

Temari pulled off her wet clothes and sighed. She felt a slight sense of déjà vu. Hadn't she done something like this before? Oh yeah that's right. Her recent stay at Shikamaru's apartment was still vivid in her memory. She was scantily clad and alone with him...**again.**

"Ok, you can turn around now."

Shikamaru turned back around, only to find Temari hanging her wet clothes above the makeshift clothesline they had made above the fire. The shirt came to her mid thigh, and rose considerably as she positioned the clothes on the clothesline.

The fire gave her tanned legs the illusion of being pale. Her creamy skin stood out even more against the dark fabric of the shirt.

Shikamaru stood up and walked a good distance into the darkness in the back of the cave.

"Oi, where are you going Shikamaru?"

"To change."

Glad for the moment alone, Temari pulled the shirt over her legs and warmed herself by the fire. Even with dry clothing and the fire, she was still cold. Her wet clothes had chilled her to the bone. The sound of Shikamaru unzipping his pants sent a flood of questionable thoughts into her head. She buried her face in her hands and closed her eyes.

Temari had always known her stubbornness to help in many situations, but now when she needed it to fight off lustful thoughts in her mind, her obstinacy was nowhere to be found.

Shikamaru emerged clad in a dark pair pants. In _only_ pants.

"W-Where's your shirt?" Temari felt her resolve slowly draining out of her. A shirtless Shikamaru was **not **whatshe needed. Maybe what she wanted, but it was not helping her current situation.

"You're wearing it. I only brought one pair of clothes remember?"

"Oh...I'm sorry. Let me give it back to you."

Shikamaru shook his head and pointed to the large goose bums on Temari's arm. "I'm fine. You're the one who needs to stay warm."

"Where did you find this cave Shikamaru?"

"Heh, I saw it while I was up in the tree...before it exploded." He added in a dry tone.

"Oh, I guess one good thing came out of being in that tree. By the way, how's your arm?"

"Better, thanks." Temari had done her best in cleaning the wound and bandaging it for him. He hung his wet pants above the fire and left them to dry. He walked toward Temari and sat down a few feet away from her.

"Ne, Shikamaru?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for earlier. That guy would have probably killed me if you hadn't come in."

Shikamaru smirked. "This is unlike you. I thought you would have gotten mad at me for interrupting your fight. I guess even troublesome women like you need help sometimes too."

Temari crossed her arms and looked away. Although she knew he was teasing, she couldn't help but get annoyed.

"Tch, I'm trying to do something nice. Kankuro told me to stop being mean and abrasive."

Shikamaru let out a quiet laugh. Temari listening to her brothers? Now _that_ was funny.

"Pfft, what's so funny?" Temari asked in an annoyed tone.

"Nothing, nothing." He replied good naturedly. "By the way..."

"Yeah?"

"Did your brothers ever find out about you and me?"

"Hahah, nope. Kankuro keeps bothering me because he wants me to tell him where I went for those three days. He even tried to make a deal with me."

"A deal?" Shikamaru replied in a dry tone.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Mhmm. Something about me telling him, and him not telling Gaara."

"Interesting. What about Gaara? Did he ask you?"

Temari nodded. "He only asked once or twice. When he realized I wasn't telling; he left it. Needless to say, I got in trouble."

Shikamaru couldn't help but laugh. "You got in trouble with Gaara? What did he do? Send you to your room or something?"

Temari rolled her eyes. "Nope, even better. He sent me on this mission. Didn't you think it was strange for me to be sent on a C rank?"

"Actually, I never really gave it any thought."

"Well that's the only reason why I'm on this mission. I knew Gaara was going to be annoyed with me for leaving the hospital, but I never thought he would be so mean. He put me in the same class with courier ninja by sending me on this mission damnit."

"That's funny. I didn't know you were being punished by your younger brother."

"I KNOW. Tch, he treats me like I'm still a child sometimes."

Shikamaru chuckled at Temari's irritation.

She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "I wonder what time it is."

"Hmm, I'm not sure. It should be night by now though. We've been in here for awhile."

She sighed and yawned.

Shikamaru stood up and stoked the fire then sat back down again across from Temari.

"I'm going to sleep."

Temari nodded. "Me too. Goodnight then."

"Yeah, goodnight."

**------------------**

Shikamaru lay awake starring at the stalactites on the ceiling of the cave. He'd only slept for about an hour before sleep left him. This restlessness annoyed him. Although his body was tired and needed rest, his mind was wide awake. He yawned and rested his head on his knees. His back ached from sleeping in an upright position against the hard cave wall, and the wound on his arm stung. He managed to keep Temari unaware of the pain in his arm, but now he gritted his teeth and tried to think of things other than the constant, throbbing pain.

The fire was beginning to subside, and a light cold crept into the cave. He glanced over at Temari and saw her turn in her sleep. She slept on her side with her pack as a pillow. Pulling himself up, Shikamaru noiselessly made his way towards her and crouched down. As he got closer to her, he realized she was shivering. He lightly placed his hand on her arm and was surprised to find her skin was icy cold.

He stood up and retrieved his shirt that had been drying above the fire. Shirt in hand, he bent down by her side. His eyes wandered over her body as he sat next to her. Her legs were lean yet voluptuous. He willed himself to look away as covered her with the shirt. She whimpered quietly as she turned in her sleep again.

Her eyes fluttered open as she felt something come in contact with her skin. She awoke just as Shikamaru stood up.

"Shikamaru..." She called in an almost inaudible tone.

He turned around and leaned next to her.

"You were shivering in your sleep. Use the shirt as a blanket." He stood to leave when he felt a tug on his arm.

Temari held his wrist. She was sitting up against the wall with the shirt he had given her in her hand. The other shirt she was wearing had ridden up, exposing more of her legs.

He crouched down and brought his face close to hers. "Yes?" He murmured in a low tone.

Temari bit her lip. "I...I'm still cold.."

Shikamaru glanced at her and felt the little resolve he had left burn along with the embers of the fire. He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers. He ran his tongue across her bottom lip nudged for entry to her mouth. Wrapping an arm around her and pulled her closer. His hand ran leisurely up and down her spine, lightly caressing her back.

Temari's mind was in chaos trying to register what was happening. She felt Shikamaru's lips against her own and tried to calm her senses. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she reciprocated the kiss. Shikamaru leaned her against the cave and deepened the kiss. She gasped lightly as she felt his tongue exploring the crevices of her mouth; her awareness of everything other than Shikamaru declining rapidly. She groaned into his mouth as she felt his caresses overwhelming her. He broke this kiss and nuzzled her neck. Temari raked her nails down his bare back as she felt him lightly biting her neck. She let out a low moan as she felt him bite down with more intensity. He left her neck and brought his face up level with hers and kissed her again. The strong will she had once possessed had now dissipated into the air. Both were panting heavily as Shikamaru finally pulled away. Even in the dim light, he could see Temari's lips were bright red and bruised from his kisses.

He brought his lips close to her ear and murmured "are you still cold?"

Temari felt a shiver of pleasure run up her spine. "No." She replied quietly

He draped his arm around her as she rested her head against his uncovered chest. Inwardly, Shikamaru knew he had started something that would prove to be quite troublesome. Pushing his thoughts aside, he rested his head against the cave wall and watched the remaining embers of the fire flicker and cast shadows on the wall.

**--------**

**A/N: **Kage Kubi Shibari: Shadow Neck Bind Technique


	11. Chapter 11: Indications

Disclaimer: Naruto is still not mine...damn...

**A/N: **Konnichiwa minna-san! The FF alerts are working again, yes! I finally received all the pm's and reviews from everyone. All your love is very much appreciated. Hmm, so our favorite two people finally yes FINALLY kissed at the end of the last chapter. Everyone seemed to love the Shika/Tem action, hahaha. I wonder how Gaara and Kankuro will be feeling about that action though? Hmm...it sounds rather troublesome to me. Guess we'll just have to find out and see...

Chapter 11

**Indications**

Temari ran her fingers lightly across Shikamaru's chest. The first signs of dawn were beginning to creep into the cave. She'd slept soundly through the night, but now it appeared she couldn't sleep any longer. The first thing that came to her mind was the events of the previous night. She trembled slightly at the remembrance of Shikamaru's kisses. Temari hadn't expected him to react that way, but that wasn't to say she didn't enjoy it. She looked up and studied his face. A few locks of his rich, coffee colored hair had made their way out of his ponytail and now rested on his cheeks. Thick, long lashes cast thin, shadowy lines under his eyes.

_It's funny how someone can change so much in six years._

The thin, wiry Shikamaru from their younger years could not compare to the current. Face against his muscular chest, Temari reflected on the past three weeks. Undeniably, she _was_ attracted to Shikamaru. She had been fighting her feelings for the past two and a half weeks now, but the kiss they shared last night only seemed to strengthen what she was desperately trying to push away. Temari regarded herself as a strong, self-sufficient woman. She was **not** one to be caught up in feeling this way. She wondered vaguely if it was just the circumstances that had pushed Shikamaru to his limits. Possibly, the seclusion and the lack of clothing was a catalyst for lust. It was possible that the entire kiss meant nothing at all.

Shikamaru stirred slightly and shifted in his position. Although deep in sleep, the feeling of something in his arms burdened him to open his eyes. He lifted his heavy eyelids open and found himself staring into Temari's greenish-blue orbs. For a moment, neither said anything. Shikamaru enjoyed the feeling of having his arm around her. He brought his eyes down to her well-formed lips and relished at the memory of the night before. Shikamaru observed a small blush forming on her cheeks. At that moment, the arrogant, self-assured Temari he was accustomed to seeing seemed to absent. He detected her eyes soften ever so slightly while he looked at her. All signs of her trademark smirk were gone. Shikamaru surveyed her face. Desire pulled at him once more. He lowered his head and leaned in to kiss her, but then pulled back.

_I shouldn't give in again..._

"O-Ohayo Shikamaru..." Temari's voice faltered slightly. She was sure Shikamaru was about to kiss her...but what had stopped him?

"Hai, ohayo." He replied in a calm tone.

Not able to find what to say, Temari let silence reign for some time. She never had trouble making conversation with Shikamaru before, but now she couldn't think of anything to say. The sun had risen outside and a few tendrils of light were making their way into the cave. Shikamaru guessed it to be around six or seven in the morning. It was troublesome for the sun to be up so early. It was disrupting his sleep. Looking down, Temari used her finger and traced circles in the earthen cave floor. Sighing, he vaguely wondered how the two of them would proceed with everything. Maybe longing had just gotten the better of him. Maybe it should have been left at that?

Shikamaru rolled his eyes to the ceiling and cursed silently. He was always the one complaining about troublesome situations, and now he was in one. The worst part being that _he_ had gotten himself in this. The night before he had acted without thinking, but now the possible repercussions of his actions worried him. Apprehensiveness aside, deep within himself he was rather pleased with the advances he made on Temari.

"How is your arm?" Temari asked from her position in his arms.

"Mmm, so so. It's better than it was last night." Shikamaru said in his usual tone. "What about you? How are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Did you get enough sleep last night Temari?"

Temari nodded. Sleeping in his arms had been rather comfortable. "Are you up to heading back to Suna today Shikamaru?"

"Yeah. The rain stopped so we shouldn't have any traveling problems today."

Temari nodded. She somewhat regretted what she had said. In the back of her mind she would have rather stayed alone with him the entire day then making the journey back to Suna, but that wouldn't be the sensible thing to do.

"When do you want to leave?" He asked.

"Hmm, well I guess we don't have to hurry. We can leave whenever."

"Alright."

Resting her head against his chest again, Temari let her eyes wander throughout the cave. The fire they built the night before had been out for several hours, and she was sure their clothes were now fully dry. She felt Shikamaru calmly run his warm fingers against her cool cheek. Temari inclined her head and brought her eyes to meet his. He appeared to be in thought. His was staring at the wall opposite them and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

"Shikamaru?"

"Hn?" The shadow wielder replied in a distracted voice.

"Never mind..." She took his hand on her cheek and rested her hand on top of his. He looked down to find her slightly smirking at him. The calm almost innocent expression that was on her face previously was now gone and replaced with her typical smug confidence.

"Troublesome woman." He said with a chuckle in his voice. He knew what she was doing. Temari was challenging him. She was trying to see how he would react to their closeness. He paused before he said anything to her. "Sabaku no Temari...are you _testing_ me?"

Temari smirked again. Shikamaru was well fitting of his title genius. He easily picked up on her actions. "Nara Shikamaru...I don't know what you're talking about."

He raised an eyebrow and studied her. He saw the devious glint in her eyes and decided to take her challenge. He took the arm that was around her and spun her around so she was facing him. "Are you sure you _really _want to test me?"

Temari replied by sending him a steely gaze. Although she felt her heart racing, she was not one to back down. Especially not to this man.

Shikamaru took the confident gaze as her answer and wasted no time in challenging her back with a kiss. Pulling her closer he brushed his lips against hers. She felt him smirking against her mouth. He ran his tongue across her teeth and ran his fingers in her hair. Temari wondered if he could hear her heart racing. The kiss continued for a few more moments before Shikamaru pulled away. Her face was flushed as she bit her lip and looked back at him.

"I think we should start getting ready to return to Suna. Don't you?" He said after he'd calmed himself down. Or would you rather stay here and finish what we started?" He murmured in her ear teasingly.

Temari's face flushed even more at that thought. "Well, Gaara will start getting suspicious if we don't get back to Suna today." She saved herself. She'd tactfully avoided directly answering his question. Temari wasn't sure if she trusted herself to answer truthfully.

"Fair enough."

Temari unwillingly stood up and walked over to their makeshift close line and retrieved her clothes. As she stood, something on her neck caught Shikamaru's attention. She disappeared into the back of the cave to change. He suppressed a quiet laugh when he realized what it was. He decided not to tell her. She could consider it a "souvenir" from him the next time she looked in the mirror. Temari reemerged fully dressed in her jounin uniform.

"Thanks for the shirt." She said as she handed back the shirt he'd lent her.

He nodded at her as he recovered his own clothes and changed in the back of the cave. Now they were both fully dressed and ready to go. Retrieving their belongings, both shinobi left the cave and headed out into the morning. The forest was fresh from the previous day's rain, and the skies seemed to be in their favor. The two walked leisurely under the warm sun on their journey back to Suna.

**---------------**

Temari smiled as the entrance to Suna came into view. Even though she had only been gone for two days, she'd missed her home town.

She yawned. Now that they had returned, she was ready for a well deserved shower and sleep. They were in the village square when they decided to split paths.

"Alright, I'll be seeing you Shikamaru."

"Do you want me to walk you home?"

"Ye- umm no that's fine." She said smiling. The last thing she needed was noisy villagers spreading rumors about Shikamaru dropping her off.

"You sure?"

Temari nodded. "You should head home and get some sleep."

"Alright; I'll be seeing you." He replied as her looked at her and smiled. Temari was almost sure she'd noticed a cunning edge in his voice. Maybe she was imagining it?

She waved as she turned around and began walking home. On her way home, she'd forgotten to report the events of the mission to Gaara. She groaned and trudged to the Kazekage's office.

**---------------**

Temari walked past the many shinobi bustling in and out of the office and carefully knocked on Gaara's office door. She heard a "come in" and entered. Kana, Gaara's receptionist, was in his office. She was shuffling through some documents and showing them to Gaara.

"Yes, that looks about right. I think you should send a copy of this to everyone else too."

"Not a problem Kazekage-sama. I'll get right on it." She replied with a smile. She turned and smiled at Temari. The smile was temporarily disrupted by a humorous look of surprise. Kana quickly recovered herself and smiled at Temari as she exited the office and closed the door with a firm click. Temari wondered what that was about.

"Welcome back Temari. I'm sure your mission was successful." Gaara said from behind the papers he was looking at.

"It was fine."

Looking up from his papers, Gaara was about to ask her another question when he noticed a conspicuous red mark on Temari's neck.

"Temari, what's that mark on your neck?" He asked in a curious tone.

"Mark? What are you talking about Gaara?"

He pointed to the large hanging mirror on the opposite wall. Temari hurriedly walked toward it and quietly gasped. To her horror, a quarter sized red blotch was located at the base of her neck. Temari felt the blood drain from her face. Shikamaru had left a mark where he had bitten her the night before. To make it worse, the tell-tale mark distinctly resembled bite marks. Now she knew what Kana's expression was for.

She turned from the mirror and feigned a smile at her brother. "It's probably a bug bite Gaara. There was some really dense forest on the way to Rain."

"Oh, ok." Gaara replied in his best convincing tone. Temari expected him to believe that was an insect bite? Fat chance. Insects didn't leave marks like _that_. He brushed it off for now, but he knew mysterious marks didn't show up out of nowhere.

"I thought you were going to make it a one day mission? What happened?"

"After we delivered the scrolls, Shikamaru and I were on our way when it started storming severely. Shikamaru thought it would be best if we waited out the storm in a cave. It rained for pretty much the entire night, so we just stayed in the cave, and left for Suna this morning."

"I see. And I take it your mission went well?"

"Yeah, it was great."

"Great?" Gaara replied in an skeptical tone. Was this the same Temari who had been giving him grief over being sent on a C rank? Something had happened on that mission. What it was, Gaara did not know.

"I mean...it was enjoyable. Except for the rain, but other than that it was relaxing." Temari quickly corrected herself. _Yes, it was rather enjoyable indeed._

"I see. Well then you're dismissed. You can take the rest of today off. I'll see you later."

"Alright then. Ja ne Gaara."

Temari closed the door behind her and sighed. That was _too_ close. She was sure Gaara didn't buy her phony bug bite excuse either. She would need to be more careful.

Kana called to her as she passed the reception desk.

"Temari-saaaan." She called in an inquisitive tone. "Might I request your presence for a moment?"

Temari smirked. If there was one person she could tell about what _really_ happened on the mission, it was Kana. She had been Gaara's receptionist since he became Kazekage and the two of them had formed a tight relationship.

Temari walked behind the desk and sat next to Kana. "Kana, I don't want Gaara to get mad at you for not working." Temari replied in a concerned tone.

"Oh don't worry. Today is a slow day, and it's almost lunch time anyway."

"Alright."

"Anway..." Kana said dramatically while leaning close to Temari. "WHO did that mark come from?! And I heard you lying to Gaara-sama. Temari-san...we all know that is **NOT **a bug bite!"

"Kana sshhhh!!! Calm down. We don't want Gaara to hear!"

"Ooh, this must be good then."

"Well, let me start from the beginning..." Temari said as her voice trailed.

**--------------**

Kana's eyes were wide with surprise by the time Temari finished re-telling the true events of the mission.

"EH?...Shika-kun did THAT? The same Shika-kun that's always complaining about things being troublesome? No way!"

Temari nodded her head and pointed to the mark. "That's proof isn't it?"

Kana giggled. "Wow Temari-san. I never would have expected that from him."

'"I know...I'm still in shock Kana." Temari leaned back in the chair and let out a relaxed sigh.

"I'm happy for you Temari-san. Shika-kun will take good care of you."

Temari blushed. "Kana I don't even know if there's anything going on between us."

Kana let out a dangerous chuckle. "Denial Temari-san, denial..."

"I am not!"

Kana smirked. "I know that _you_ know that we **both** know that you want things to progress. Am I right?"

Temari paused. "Maybe..."

"See? Hah! I knew it!"

Temari looked down and played with the fabric of her pockets. Kana took her hands and smiled. "Don't worry Temari-san. Things will totally work out. And you can be confident that I won't tell Kazekage-sama anything." Kana hugged her and laughed again.

"Temari-san you'll have to tell Shika-kun to be more discreet when he leaves his love marks. Hehehe."

"Honestly Kana, I didn't even know it was there until Gaara said something."

"Heheh, Temari-san you two look so cute together."

Temari and Kana continued laughing together. A deep voice interrupted their laughter. Both girls turned to the puzzled faces of Kankuro and Gaara.

"Would you two like to share what's so funny?" Kankuro asked.

Temari and Kana looked at Gaara and Kankuro then looked to each other and began laughing even louder.

The two brothers exchanged confused glances and walked off.

"Women can be so strange sometimes Gaara."

Gaara merely nodded in agreement.


	12. Chapter 12: Rivalries and Rematches

Disclaimer: Kayutori is not the owner of Naruto. Yes, I _am_ sad...

**A/N: **Greetings everyone, tis Miyori once again. So yeah, apparently everyone really loved the last chapter; I thought that was pretty kickass. I know we all love that Shika/Tem action. I've really had a blast writing these past few chapters. Now that the initial awkwardness between Shikamaru and Temari is over, it's now at my discretion to put them in the most troublesome situations EVER. Muwahahah. I received a request from **Lyneia **for our favorite Sand brothers to come in playing the "protective brother" role. I won't give any spoilers, but I'll just say **Lyneia **don't worry. I'll get in all the good stuff. I would also like to say thank you to my reviewers because this story has now reached over 100 reviews! Sorry this chapter took a bit longer than usual. I've just been rather busy with schoolwork lately. I hope I'm still loved by everyone.

Chapter 12

**Rivalries and Rematches**

Three days had passed since Shikamaru had returned from his mission with Temari. Earlier that day, Shikamaru reported in to the Kazekage's office, but returned home when Kana told him Gaara hadn't assigned him anything. He noticed her giving him a smirking look when he approached her desk.

_What's with her?..._

After returning to his apartment, he collapsed on the couch and took a nap. He wasn't fond of waking up at 7 just to be at the Kazekage's office by 7:15. By the time he had awoken from his nap, it was 12:30 p.m. His stomach rumbled loudly as he walked into the kitchen. Upon opening his fridge, Shikamaru was disappointed to find it bare.

_My fridge is as empty as my stomach..._

He quickly padded back to his room and retrieved his sandals. He would just have to go out and get some food. Shikamaru noted to stop by the open market later and stock his fridge. Hunger was not something he was fond of.

**--------------**

After living in Suna for almost a month now, Shikamaru had come to know the city quite well. Since it was right around lunch, this would the busiest time for the vendors. Shikamaru knew if he attempted pursuing food now, he would be waiting in line for a good 15 to 30 minutes. Not to mention it would be very crowded. His stomach growled again as Shikamaru aimlessly walked around the less traveled streets.

Hunger aside, Shikamaru was enjoying his walk. The clouds puffed by above him, and the atmosphere was calm now that he'd escaped from the hustle and bustle of the city. He continued strolling and stopped when he realized he'd stumbled upon what he guessed to be the training grounds for the shinobi of the village. Curiosity nudged him as he entered the grounds. He saw what appeared to be teams of genin and chuunin scattered around the training grounds with their leaders. Some were practicing jutsu while others were sparring. A light warm wind swept across the grounds and slightly stirred the sand on the ground. Shikamaru walked towards a tall sand dune he'd noticed in the back of the fields. As he neared, he listened to a leader instructing a younger shinobi.

"Watch your attack Takeshi. Just because you're on the offensive doesn't mean you can leave yourself open. You must be on offensive while also consciously guarding yourself."

"Hai sensei."

"Alright, attack Yuuhi again, and remember what I said. You too Yuuhi, watch your defense. I noticed some places were you left yourself open."

A knowing smirk crossed his face while the sound of kunai clashing echoed from behind the large drift of sand. He knew _that_ voice. His wandering had led him to something even better than food.

"Remember offense and defense you two. Yuuhi push back with more force. Good good! Takeshi look for open spots to attack!" The two younger shinobi were locked in a grapple when their instructor clapped her hands. "Alright break it up."

Takeshi pulled back and landed on the ground while Yuuhi dropped her weapons and sat down.

"Much better you two. You all know hand to hand combat is a very essential skill for a shinobi to master." Temari continued explaining the dynamics of sparring until she noticed her student's attention was no longer on her.

Back turned to the dune, Temari hadn't noticed Shikamaru behind her. He'd emerged from behind the dune and was silently watching Temari. Her three pupils were puzzled at the man that had suddenly appeared and was now watching their teacher with interest. He placed a finger to his lips, signaling for them to remain silent.

Temari noticed the wide eyes of her genin team and looked behind her to see what had captured their attention. Turning around she found herself face to face with the last person she thought she would run into on the training grounds.

"Shikamaru!"

He nodded at her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with interest.

"What are _you_ doing here?" He asked mockingly.

"I'm here training my genin, _obviously_." She replied in a slightly annoyed tone.

Shikamaru smiled at the faces of her three pupils.

"Temari-sensei, who is this?" Yuuhi asked curiously.

"This is..." Temari wondered what to introduce Shikamaru as. "Team, this is Shikamaru. He's an acquaintance of mine and a transfer shinobi from Konoha."

Smirking, he raised an eyebrow and gave her a look that seemed to say: _Acquaintances? We were a little more than acquaintances in that cave three days ago._

Temari shot him back a dangerous look that replied: _Don't. Start._

The children stood up to greet him.

Temari named each student as they shook Shikamaru's hand. "This is Takeshi, Rika, and Yuuhi." Temari said proudly.

"Temari-sensei, how do you know him?" Takeshi asked while greeting Shikamaru.

"We fought against each other during the chuunin exams." Shikamaru cut in.

"I see. I guess it must have sucked losing to Temari-sensei huh?" Takeshi said proudly.

"Losing?" Shikamaru said chucking. "Takeshi, I didn't lose to Temari."

"No way!" All three students shouted in unison.

"Temari-sensei hasn't lost to anyone she's fought EVER." The younger boy argued.

Rika looked towards her teacher in surprise. "Temari-sensei...is he for real?"

An awkward moment of silence passed while her students watched a look of annoyed embarrassment wash over their teacher's face. She sighed and finally gave in to their questioning.

"Shikamaru isn't lying." She confessed finally in a goaded tone.

"But that doesn't mean your sensei didn't give me a run for my money. She had me cornered for while, but in the end I won out."

"Tch, yeah. Because you're a fucking genius." Temari muttered under her breath.

The initial shock had now passed, and her pupils were now discussing something amongst themselves.

"Temari-sensei, when can we go eat lunch? I'm hungry." Rika said in a tired voice.

"Well I guess it is about time for a break isn't it? Fair enough. Team you're dismissed. You all did well today. Keep training like that and you'll all be ready for the chuunin exams in no time Remember, be back in an hour. I expect you here no later than that."

The three quickly dispersed leaving Shikamaru and Temari alone.

"So...what brings you here?" Temari asked with interest. She hadn't shown it on her face, but she was rather pleased to see him.

"Well, I was just out for some lunch, but I thought it would be troublesome to have to wait in line since now is the busiest time of the day. So I just decided to take a walk and head back in about half an hour."

"And you walked all the way to the training grounds?" Temari replied in skeptical tone.

"Indeed. I didn't even know this place was here."

"I see."

Shikamaru sat down on the warm sand and crossed his legs. "You're a pretty good teacher..."

Temari smiled. "Thanks."

"Even if you are a slave driver."

"Slave driver? I am **not**." Temari declared slightly irritated.

"Cheh, I heard you ordering those kids around."

"Whatever!"

"Takeshi more offense! Yuuhi attack more forcefully!" Shikamaru imitated her in an exaggerated tone.

Temari spun on her heels and crossed her arms. He was wrong. She was only trying to improve her student's technique.

"I'm just trying to make them into good shinobi. Those kids have a lot of talent; I'm only doing what I can to bring it out of them." Temari huffed in a miffed tone.

Shikamaru laughed quietly. Seeing Temari somewhat angry was rather amusing. "Hai, hai Temari-_sensei_."

Still aggravated by his teasing, Temari pursued a question. "So what are you doing now?"

"Hmm, well I'm sure the lunch rush should be over by now. I'll be heading back so I can find something to eat."

"Oh." She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice.

Standing up, he dusted his pants and turned to walk away. "Oh, by the way..."

"Hmm?"

"Has Temari-sensei eaten lunch yet?" He asked while he kept his teasing tone.

"No, I thought I would run home and get something to eat there."

"Well then...would Temari-sensei ...like to join me for lunch...?"

A smile quickly replaced the scowl that had been on her face earlier. The thought of spending more time with Shikamaru was something she was up for at any time.

"That sounds nice. And you're sure it wouldn't be too troublesome?" She said teasing him with her reply.

"Well, I guess I can make an exception for one troublesome woman. But the real question is...if you would like to be that troublesome woman?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll have to think about that." Temari smiled coyly back at him.

"Well then, what could I do to convince you?" Shikamaru said as he moved closer to her.

"Hmm, we'll talk about it over lunch." She said in a tone that matched the devious glint in her eyes.

**---------------**

The lunch crowd had passed and the barbeque restaurant Shikamaru and Temari were seated at was sparsely populated. The two ninja exchanged casual banter back and forth as the meat and vegetables sizzled on the grill before them.

"So, how old are the kids on your team Temari?"

"Mmm, Takeshi is the oldest; he's 13, but he'll be 14 in a few weeks. Yuuhi and Rika are both 13."

"Hmm, you should be getting ready for the chuunin exams pretty soon."

Temari nodded. "The next exam should be in about eight months. It sounds far away, but time goes by quickly."

Temari casually glanced around the restaurant while the two ate quietly. Shikamaru studied the pictures on the wall while finishing his food.

"Oi, were you the one who told your team you were undefeated?" Shikamaru abruptly asked with interest.

Taking a sip of water, Temari shook her head. "I never told them that. I think they just automatically assumed that. But that doesn't mean I don't hold a strong record. Other than my brothers, _you're_ the only person I've lost to."

Grinning, Shikamaru decided to taunt Temari with her loss. "Troublesome Temari, why does that bother you so much?"

"That doesn't bother me." She replied calmly as she tightened her grip on her chopsticks. A quiet cracking sound drew Shikamaru's eyes to the chopsticks.

Eyeing the now broken chopsticks, Shikamaru shuddered slightly. Maybe he shouldn't push her so much...but then again he couldn't resist.

"Sure it doesn't. It would probably be too troublesome for you to redeem yourself against me anyway." Shikamaru said lazily.

Temari looked up and met his eyes. "You want to bet?"

**--------------**

Fifteen minutes later, Shikamaru found himself on the Suna training grounds facing Temari. Apparently, she had taken his invitation to a rematch seriously. The six year old rivalry would be settled, here and now.

"Oi, I was just kidding you know..." Shikamaru said as he attempted to negotiate his way out of the scrimmage.

"Tch, you can't go back on your word now. Sabaku no Temari is not one to be trifled with."

Shikamaru merely sighed. _Women...especially strong women are a hassle._ He just happened to choose the most troublesome woman out of all of them.

Temari threw a kunai in the air. Once it plunged into the sand, the fight would begin. As soon as she saw it plummeting to the ground Temari gripped her fan in her hands and launched her first attack.

Spreading out the large fan, she whipped it around her and summoned a large gust of wind. Shikamaru quickly jumped up once he saw it coming his way. Suddenly, the wind split in two and surrounded him on all sides. Coughing violently, he felt his body being lifted up into the air and spun around mercilessly.

Temari smirked. Just because she liked him didn't mean she wasn't going to reclaim her lost victory. The winds died down and tossed Shikamaru haphazardly in a sand dune. The world spun around him as stood up and tried to regain his bearings. Finally, his surroundings stopped revolving. As soon as his balanced had returned to him, he positioned his hands and began making signs.

_Hmmm, he's trying his shadow possession. Heh, that won't work this time._

Before Shikamaru could complete the jutsu, Temari appeared in front of him armed with her fan. She hoisted her fan in the air poised and ready to attack. Temari was about to bring the fan down when she felt it being snatched from her hand. Quickly looking behind her, she was surprised to another Shikamaru toss her fan on the ground some distance away. Taking advantage of her distraction, the first Shikamaru dashed her way and forcefully kicked her into the air.

Shikamaru mentally congratulated himself. He'd taken her attack and used it to his benefit. In the moment he was in the sand dune, he'd quickly made a copy of himself and sent the bunshin out to fight her while he was hiding behind the sand dune.

Sending the chakra down to his legs, he followed her into the air and tightly clamped his arm around her waist. Temari kicked her legs back to push him away, but he tightened his grasp on her waist. Shikamaru felt them quickly descending and decided it was now time to put his plan into action. About 7 feet from the ground, Shikamaru shifted his grip and placed one hand on her hip and the other on her back. He forcefully pushed down on her back which increased the speed at which she was falling. Shikamaru had calculated everything perfectly. Temari would hit the ground with more force because she was falling at a higher velocity. This wasn't an attack he used often, but this was retribution for her wind offensive. Payback was a bitch.

He let go and watched Temari fall, but then felt her grab his hand and pull him down with her. Shikamaru saw her smirking at him.

"You're going down right with me." Temari thought to herself. She might have not been able to counter attack successfully, but this way it would be even. Shikamaru jerked away, but it was too late.

Even with the sand, the landing was excruciatingly painful. Shikamaru cursed as he and Temari hit the ground. His attack had come back and bitten him in the ass. Payback _**was**_ a bitch. Temari tried to blink away the dots she was seeing in her eyes. She and Shikamaru's bodies were tangled together on the ground with his body on top of hers.

She looked up at him with a fierce anger in her eyes. "Were you trying to KILL me just now?!"

"No...Were **you** trying to kill me earlier?" He demanded back at her.

She turned her head to the right and growled. A few more moments of angry silence past before anyone said anything. Sighing loudly and arduously, Shikamaru broke the silence.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for the attack to turn out like that. Are you ok?"

She turned her head back and was surprised to find him genuinely concerned.

Noticing his worried expression, her anger diminished somewhat. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm still alive at least." She replied gruffly.

He rolled his eyes at her. "This troublesome rematch was your idea anyway."

"Nu-uh! You're the one who brought it up in the first place." Temari interjected now irrigated again.

"Tch, I was only kidding."

"Whatever." Temari once again turned her head away.

He looked at her but held his peace. After giving her a few minutes to cool off, he lowered his head.

"You troublesome woman." He murmured quietly in her ear.

A shiver shot up her spine at the feeling of his breath on her ear. Turning her face to look at him, she felt him press against her and lightly brush his lips against hers. The last bits of her anger melted away at the feeling of his lips. She abruptly pulled away at the sound of trampling feet approaching. Her students had returned from lunch.

"We'll finish this later." He said speaking softly in her ear and lightly nuzzling her neck before standing up. She quickly composed herself and wiped the sand from her clothing. She waved to her three pupils as she saw them approaching.

"Temari-sensei, you didn't eat lunch?" Rika asked curiously.

"I did."

"Oh ok. How was your lunch Temari-sensei?" Yuuhi asked politely.

"Fine."

Her students smiled back at her, innocently unaware of the fact that their teacher was rather annoyed at their arrival.

"Oi, well I'm going to be going now." Shikamaru said while waving to younger shinobi. "It was nice meeting you all." Walking past the children, he momentarily stopped beside Temari and said something in her ear.

Takeshi, Rika, and Yuuhi noticed their teacher's face flush somewhat as Shikamaru spoke inaudibly in her ear. Nodding at Temari, Shikamaru tossed a mischievous smile her way and casually sauntered away. She dug her nails into her palms and tried to calm herself. After what he'd just said, focusing on her students would be nearly impossible.

"What did he say to you Temari-sensei?" Takeshi asked with interest.

"**None** of your business."

"Oooh Temari-sensei are you blushing?" Yuuhi teased.

"Would you hush Yuuhi." Temari scolded.

"Awww! I wanna know what he said!" All three students protested loudly.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Come on Temari-sensei? Did he tell you the secret to some ultra super jutsu or something?" Takeshi persistently asked again.

_Far from it..._

"It must be pretty good if you're holding out on us like that." Rika chimed in.

"Coooome on. We won't tell anyone." Yuuhi said in a convincing voice.

"No more complaints. All of you, I want a lap around this training ground. "

A unanimous loud groan erupted from the mouths of all three genin. "Whyyyyy?" They all whined loudly.

"Oi, I'm going to count to three, and I want to see legs moving. Anyone not moving by the time I get to the number two will run an extra lap."

The students quickly began running at that declaration. Temari sighed and leaned against a dune. The warm sound soothed her sore back as she sank against the large drift of sand. Although he had gone free today, she _would _get even with Shikamaru for that attack.

"Tell us what he said Temari-sensei!" She heard Takeshi yell from across the clearing.

She ignored his comment and smiled at the remembrance of what Shikamaru had told her before he left.

_Heh, if it's not too troublesome, then I'd like to see you more often. Hopefully, next time we won't be interrupted while we're in the middle of something._

"Nara Shikamaru...I think I'd like to see more of you too..." Temari thought quietly to herself.

**---------------**

Kankuro eyed his sister from his position on the couch. Something had changed about her in the past few days. Not that something had changed, but there was a subtle difference he noticed lately. He and Gaara had come home to find her preparing dinner for the three of them. The strange thing wasn't to see her cooking, but it was the presence she gave off.

Not only had she been oddly content, but she also hadn't challenged him or Gaara over anything lately. Temari only behaved like this when she was ill, but he was sure she was fine. Kankuro brushed it off. Maybe he was imagining things? Or maybe there was an underlying cause for all of this? He settled back into the couch and sighed. He would leave it alone for the time being.


	13. Chapter 13: Troublesome

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine...buuuuuut Hyde from L'ArcenCiel has devilish good looks.

Chapter 13

**Troublesome**

Shikamaru rested his chin on his palm and tapped the lightly tapped the pen in his hand against the warm wood of the desk. He mindlessly stared at the blank paper in front of him. Tsunade would undoubtedly be angry with him if he didn't send out his status reports. Every nin on shinobi exchange was required to send status reports every two weeks or so. Shikamaru, on the other hand, hadn't sent out any so far. Suna had been his temporary home for exactly one month and five days now, and still he had nothing to write. He set the pen down and watched it unhurriedly roll to the edge of the desk. The pen stopped momentarily before regaining speed and tumbling over the edge.

Shikamaru drummed his fingers on the desk and let his mind wander. The purpose of shinobi exchange was to observe the other village's way of life and see if you could bring back some helpful things for your own village; so far he hadn't picked up on anything significantly different. Other than the fact that Suna was cloudless and much hotter than Konoha, there wasn't much difference between the two cities.

The past week had been busy, yet uninteresting. If he wasn't on some various one day mission, then he was doing some miscellaneous thing around the city, and to add to that he was training with the Suna shinobi. Gaara had made it quite clear that laziness was not tolerated in Suna.

Shikamaru yawned and lazily reached over to retrieve the pen that had fallen over the desk's edge. Even though he disliked the large volumes of work, it helped him keep his thoughts off the absent Temari.

He'd been busy all week and by the time his scheduled was less hectic, Kana told him that Temari and her team had gone on a mission. He didn't know how long the mission was, but it couldn't have been too bad. After all, these _were_ genin.

He rested his head against the desk while the blank paper stared him in the face. Picking up the pen, he sat up and tried to focus on the task at hand. Unfortunately for him, status reports didn't write themselves.

**------------**

Temari perched in the branches of a large tree. She shielded her eyes from the sun and surveyed the forest. The wooded area was still and deserted for countless miles. She looked down and saw her genin team resting against the trunks of the trees near the one she was in. Their mission had been a simple one. Escort another paranoid VIP back to his village. Temari never understood some of the people she'd escorted in the past. You would think any important person would have at least some decent fighting abilities, but no. Majority of them were unscrupulous men with stomachs rounder than seven of their own villagers combined.

Temari yawned. Their two day mission had been completely effortlessly. They'd been traveling since mid-day and were only a few hours outside of Suna, but she'd decided to let them take a rest here. Temari knew after they'd exited the forest, desert would surround them and there would be no more places to rest. Now was as good a time as any to take a break. She continued scanning the forest while she listened to her students talking below her.

"Meh, that mission was too easy." Takeshi boasted in a confident voice.

"It was rather simple." Yuuhi replied stifling a yawn. "I know Temari-sensei gave us this break to rest, but I'm bored."

"Hmm, she's given us a longer break than she usually does. She even bought us ramen in the village after we dropped off the man we were escorting." Rika said thoughtfully.

"She _has_ been nicer than usual lately. I wonder why..." Takeshi cut in.

"I think it's because of that Shikamaru guy from Konoha." Yuuhi said in a quiet tone.

"Mhmm, I agree. Remember that day he was at the training grounds?" Rika asked.

Takeshi and Yuuhi nodded.

Rika looked up and made sure Temari wasn't able to hear her speaking.

Rika lowered her voice and motioned for her teammates to move closer to her.

"You guys swear you won't tell?"

The two nin next to her nodded eagerly.

"Ok, when we were coming back from lunch that day he was there, I was sorta ahead of you guys. So when I walked past the dune he was on top of-"

A kunai flew down from the tree Temari was in and landed in the middle of the three genin huddled together.

"Oi, time to get going team." Temari said as she jumped down.

"Aww! Five more minutes sensei." The genin pleaded.

"Forget it. Now get all your things together so we can get going." Takeshi and Yuuhi turned to pick up their belongings while Temari lightly tapped Rika on the shoulder and stared her down. Temari mouthed the words 'I heard you.'

Rika's face went from its normal complexion to a stark white. From her position on the ground, Rika was sure Temari wouldn't have been able to hear her speaking. On top of that, her voice was barely above a whisper. This was not good.

Temari continued looking at her until she was sure she'd scared Rika into silence. She leaned down and whispered in Rika's ear "you _never_ saw anything. I don't think you want to stay a genin for the rest of your life, now do you Rika?"

Rika shook her head hastily and assured Temari she wouldn't repeat what she saw. "I-I promise."

"Good." Temari's face abruptly changed from its previous glare to a smile. "All right everyone. You ready? Let's get going."

They assumed a diamond formation as they leaped from sturdy branches in the forest. Yuuhi slowed down allowing Rika to catch up with her.

"Oi Rika, are you ok? You look a little pale..." Yuuhi asked in a concerned tone.

Rika looked back to find a smug look planted on the face of their teacher. Despite the warmth of the sun on her skin, she shuddered.

"Yuuhi...maybe one day... I'll tell you..." Rika finally said as they both continued moving throughout the forest.

Temari felt somewhat relived. The last thing she needed was loud mouthed genin telling all of Suna about what they'd seen. Painful images of Kankuro and Gaara leaving Shikamaru for dead in the desert flittered across her mind. She sighed quietly. It had been some time since she'd seen him. He was always out doing something. Temari vaguely wondered if Gaara kept him busy just to keep him away from her. She dismissed that thought. Temari didn't even want to imagine what Gaara would do if he found out.

Temari quickened her pace. Suna, and Shikamaru, were only a few hours away.

**---------------**

By the time Temari and her team arrived back in Suna, the sun was setting. She waved a goodbye to her genin as she watched each one enter their respective homes. After seeing Yuuhi off, Temari made her way to the Kazekage office. She would give a report on her mission and head home. The past week had been a tiring one, and she was ready to take some time off. Luckily for her, tomorrow was Saturday.

Once Gaara became Kazekage of Suna, Temari offered her help to him in any way she could, but she'd made it quite clear that she never did any work on Saturdays. Period. A warm evening wind swept past her as she leisurely walked to the Kazekage tower.

**--------------**

Shikamaru strolled lazily to the Kazekage office. After three painful hours, he finally managed to finish his status reports. He would have gone to the post office to send his reports, but he was sure it would have closed already. He would just give it to Kana and she would hand it off to the next courier heading in the direction of Konoha.

His sandals brushed against the dirt on the ground as raised his head to survey the sky. He guessed it to be somewhere around 6:15. Although he missed Konoha, one thing Shikamaru appreciated about Suna was its sunsets. Rich shades of pink and smoldering orange swirled around the sky and complemented the tanned desert sand. He smiled at the little children he saw playing in the streets. Although he had been constantly working, he was glad he came out to deliver his letter.

After a few more minutes of walking, his destination came into view. He pushed aside the heavy doors and entered the office. Kana waved to him from the reception desk.

"Need something, Shika-kun?"

"Yeah. I have some mail to send to Konoha, and I was wondering if I could drop it here and have the next courier nin headed to Konoha take it along?"

"Mhmm, we can do that. You can just give it to me and when I'm goi-"

The intercom on her desk buzzed quietly and interrupted her sentence. She motioned for Shikamaru to hold on while she answered the call.

"Hai? Mhmm, that's fine. I'll be right there."

Kana ended the call and brought her attention back to Shikamaru.

"Gomen Shika-kun. They need my help with something at the other end of the office. I'll take it for you when I come back."

"Eh, that's ok. I'll just take it myself. Can you tell where to drop it off?"

Kana quickly pointed out the way to the courier office. "Don't worry you can't miss it. Sorry again Shika-kun."

"Don't worry about it. I guess it's not too troublesome."

He waved her a goodbye and headed off in the direction of the courier department.

**-----------**

Temari rested her head against Gaara's desk. One of the perks of being the Kazekage's sister was being able to enter his office whenever she pleased. Although she knew it annoyed Gaara, she continued to do it.

"Oi, Temari don't litter my desk with your body please."

Temari mumbled something under her breath before sitting up and leaning back in the chair she was sitting in.

"Here, take this and deliver it for me." Gaara said handing a manila folder with several papers inside.

Temari sighed and took the papers from him.

"Come back when you're done. I'm sure I have things for you to do."

"Tch, Gaara I'm not your secretary."

"No...but you're in my office, and I'm going to utilize your services."

She made a face at him before stepping out and shutting the door with more force than was necessary. Temari looked and the documents and groaned. Her destination was at the opposite end of the Kazekage office.

Opening the folder, she examined the contents. Not paying attention to her surroundings, Temari read while she walked. The folder was knocked out of her hands as she felt herself collide with something solid.

"Oi! Watch where you're going." Temari said angrily.

"Mmm, I think the problem was reading while walking." A familiar voice replied.

Temari looked up and found herself looking up at Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru...? Why are you down here?"

"Courier office."

"Oh..."

Shikamaru stooped down and picked up the papers on the floor.

An awkward pause settled in between the two shinobi.

"So...how was your mission?" Shikamaru asked lazily.

"Fine. It was a little boring though."

"I see."

Another silence settled in while Temari tried to find something to talk about. She ran her fingers across the back of her uniform and wished she could think of something for conversation.

"Well I guess I should be going now." She finally said breaking the silence.

Shikamaru moved closer to hand her the papers, while Temari simultaneously shifted to take them from him. Shikamaru's foot moved in front of her own and tripped her. Temari fell in against his chest scattering the papers on the floor once again.

"S-Sorry Shikamaru."

"Gomen. My foot was in the way." Shikamaru replied quietly.

She tried pushing away from him when she felt his arm around her.

"I'm fine Shikamaru. You can let go now." Temari looked up and noticed the scheming grin that just appeared on his face.

"Do people come by this section of the Kazekage office often?"

"Not very often..." Temari replied. "Why?"

"It's too troublesome to say. So I'll just show you." Shikamaru lowered his face and pressed his lips against hers. He felt her stiffen then slowly relax as the kiss continued. Shikamaru guided her over and leaned Temari against the wall. He nudged her lips asking for entrance to her mouth while he lightly pressed his hands on her hips and ran his fingers up and down her sides. Temari wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

In the back of her mind, she vaguely remembered something about Gaara wanting her to return to the office, but as the kiss continued all thoughts of things other than Shikamaru were forgotten. Her slender fingers made their way up and pulled the tie out of Shikamaru's hair. She fisted the thick locks in her hands as his hair came loose.

Shikamaru ran his tongue over her bottom lip before bringing his face down to her neck and burying his face in the soft skin. Temari closed her eyes and moaned quietly at the feeling of his teeth on her skin. She felt his hand moving up and unbuttoning the first button on her uniform. A pleasurable groan escaped her lips as Shikamaru kissed the supple skin of her chest. Temari panted heavily and tried to calm her heart. Opening her eyes she saw a blurry figure standing some few feet away. She realized who the person was as her vision cleared.

"Sh-Shikamaru..."

Shikamaru looked up and was surprised at Temari's suddenly troubled face. Turning around, Shikamaru's look changed to match Temari's expression.

There, standing by the corner was Gaara. The swirls of chakra by his feet matched his crimson colored hair. His lips were set in a firm line and his fists were clenched tightly.

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru thought to himself.


	14. Chapter 14: Revelations

Disclaimer: Mine? Nope it's all Masashi Kishimoto-san's.

**A/N:** Hello again everyone. First of all let me say thank you to each and every single person who has reviewed. I received so much positive feedback on the last chapter. I received over 30 reviews on the last chapter alone. I just thought that was so awesome. Every time I check my stats, I'm always floored by the numbers. Thanks again to all my faithful readers and reviewers!

Chapter 14

**Revelations**

Temari felt her face flush violently as her eyes met Gaara's. For a moment, it seemed as if time stopped. To be caught in a situation like this with Shikamaru was something she hadn't even considered. Temari stood motionless as she felt her brother's penetrating gaze. Gaara's eyes darted between her and Shikamaru. Although he said nothing, but Temari could tell by the fluctuations in his chakra that he wasn't exactly pleased.

"G-Gaara...I..." Temari's voice faltered slightly. This wasn't a situation where she could attempt to prove her innocence. After all, they **were** caught in the act red-handed.

Gaara raised his hand, signaling for her to hold her peace. At the moment, he couldn't think of the correct thing to say. After Temari had been gone for over 10 minutes he'd decided on going to find her. What he found wasn't something he was expecting.

Not many things surprised him, but what he saw when he rounded the corner was something that literally left him speechless.

The mark on Temari's neck, her sudden mood change; it all made sense now. In fact he was surprised he hadn't noticed it before. He left Temari and shifted his gaze to Shikamaru. Gaara felt his anger heighten as he stared at Shikamaru. He'd never expected anyone to pull a stunt like this with Temari;_ especially_ not Shikamaru.

He slowly made his way to Shikamaru and pulled him away from Temari. Shikamaru's felt a sharp pain shoot up throughout his body as Gaara grabbed the collar of his vest and forcefully pushed him against the wall.

"Would you like to explain to me what I saw just now?" Gaara said in a dangerously low voice forcing Shikamaru against the wall behind him.

Shikamaru looked down at Gaara but said nothing.

Angered at Shikamaru's silence, Gaara raised his fist and sent a crushing blow into Shikamaru's jaw. Shikamaru felt himself being released, only to have the wind knocked out of him as Gaara landed a blow in his abdomen. Holding his stomach, Shikamaru hunched over coughed violently.

"Gaara, stop..." Temari said moving towards her angered brother.

"Stay out of this Temari." Gaara replied turning around and silencing her with a chilly stare.

Not giving Shikamaru time to recover, Gaara manipulated his tendrils of sand and pulled him up. Shikamaru felt another blow, this time under his jaw. He grimaced and swallowed the blood pooling in his mouth. The sand threw him against the wall, while Gaara simply stood there and watched. Shikamaru gathered himself and staggered upward.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth as Gaara punched him once more in his stomach. He grabbed the collar of Shikamaru's uniform and raised his fist for another hit.

"Gaara stop!" Temari ran forward and pulled him back. Gaara pulled back his arm, but stopped when he saw his sister's face.

"Gaara...please."

Gaara felt himself calm somewhat at his sister's sincere expression. Shikamaru landed on the floor with a quiet thud as Gaara haphazardly let him go. Looking up, Shikamaru wiped the blood from his mouth and glanced at Temari. She stooped down by him and surveyed his injuries.

"Shikamaru...are you alright?"

"Fine."

"I want _him_ to leave my office. Now." Gaara said tossing a glance Shikamaru's way.

"Gaara!" Temari protested loudly.

"It's fine. I'll leave." Shikamaru stood up and shakily began making his way down the hall.

"Shikamaru, wait..." Temari called after him.

He looked back at her and shook his head. "Don't worry.." She faintly heard him say 'troublesome' as he walked down the corridor.

"Gaara, why the hell did you do that?!" Temari demanded angrily.

"He deserved it."

"Gaara, you had no right."

The crimson haired man simply looked away and frowned. He turned away and began walking back to his office. Temari furiously followed him back to his office.

Her aquamarine eyes flashed angrily as she slammed her fists down on his desk and demanded an explanation.

"Damnit Gaara! You aren't in charge of my life!"

He ignored her and pressed the intercom on his desk. "Kana, get me the Shinobi Deportation Forms."

"Are you deporting him back to Konoha?! Gaara, what the hell?"

"Mark them as top priority Kana."

"Hai, Kazekage-sama." Kana's voice replied through the intercom.

"Gaara would you just listen to me!?" Temari said as her voice reached dangerously high limits.

Gaara looked up and their eyes locked. "This is **not** debatable Temari."

Temari narrowed her eyes before turning around and muttering "fine." She slammed the door behind her as she exited the room.

Temari marched angrily down the halls in the Kazekage office. Gaara could do as he pleased, but so would she.

**----------------**

Temari had exhausted all her fury after two intense hours of training. Every time she thought about her younger brother's actions her anger returned to her, and she continued throwing kunai or sparring with her own bunshin. She quietly walked through the darkness of the night as she thought.

Temari looked up at the pale full moon hung high in the clear night sky. She would not return home tonight. There had been many times she and Gaara had fought, but this time was different. This time, she was truly angry. Temari rounded a corner and vaguely wondered where she would stay for the night. Leaning against a building, a faint smile crossed her face. There was one place she knew she was welcome.

**------------**

Shikamaru groaned as the sound of someone knocking on his door seemed to reverberate throughout his skull. His entire body ached, and he was in no mood for visitors. It had been a while since he'd taken a beating like that.

He slowly walked to the door and unlocked it.

Temari saw the surprise on his face when he opened the door.

"T-Temari?"

"Shikamaru..."

Shikamaru ushered her in the closed the door. Turning around, he felt her move closer and lean against him.

He wrapped his arms around her and mustered a grin.

They sat on the couch and enjoyed the stillness of the apartment. Temari looked at him and frowned. His cheek was swollen and the bluish-black bruises were already beginning to form.

"Shikamaru?"

"Hn?"

"Have you put ice on any of your injuries yet?"

"Kind of."

"Shikamaru!"

"What?"

"You need to ice them to stop the swelling."

"I know."

Temari rolled her eyes. Standing up from the couch, she walked to the kitchen and found a clean cloth and ice from his freezer. Wrapping the ice in the cloth, she pressed it against his swollen face.

Shikamaru grimaced at the ice but said nothing.

"I still can't believe Gaara. He wasn't even considerate of anything." Temari said pressing the compress against Shikamaru's more forcefully.

"Temari..."

"Tch, I don't know what's wrong with him. He didn't even listen to me."

"Temari." Shikamaru repeated quietly once more.

"He treats me like he's my father or something. Gaara thinks he can rule my life just because he's the Kazekage."

"Temari!" Shikamaru said raising his voice.

"What!?" Temari demanded back clearly irritated.

"I can't feel more face anymore." Shikamaru said with his words slurred together. The ice had numbed his cheek and jaw, leaving him unable to speak clearly.

"Oh." Temari abruptly pulled the cloth away from his face. "Sorry...I didn't mean to numb your face completely. "Does it feel any better?"

"A little."

Moving closer, she rested her head on his chest. Shikamaru smiled lightly and winced simultaneously.

Temari pulled away and smiled apologetically. "I rested on your injuries...sorry..."

He shrugged and wrapped his arms around her. "It's ok."

She curled up next to him and sighed. "I guess you really took a beating, huh?"

Shikamaru snorted. "Yeah, something like that."

"Why didn't you fight back?"

"Fight back? Against _your _brother? That's practically digging my own grave Temari."

"I fight back against him."

"Well, that's you. You're his sister. Besides, we weren't exactly picking daises when he found us."

Temari blushed slightly. "Yeah, I guess so." The two remained quiet for a few moments. Temari took Shikamaru's arm and studied his hands. The palms were firm and calloused from many years of training. His fingers were long and slender, yet strong. Placing her hand against his, she noted how much bigger his hands were. He caught her off guard as he grabbed her fingers and lightly squeezed them in his hand.

"Shikamaru?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I stay here tonight? I mean...until everything dies down."

"Troublesome Temari; running away from Gaara?" Shikamaru replied slightly smirking.

"No. I just don't want to see him right now. I don't want to see him for awhile actually." Temari added.

Shikamaru slouched down in the couch and pulled Temari along with him.

"Why? You don't want me to stay here? I can go stay with Kana if you don't wa-"

Shikamaru pulled her closer and silenced Temari with a kiss. Although the injuries on his face made kissing her somewhat harder, it was still worth it in the end.

"Does that answer your question?" He finally replied lazily.

Nodding Temari fought the smile that was tugging on her lips. She yawned and stretched her shapely legs.

"Tired?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"A little."

Shikamaru glanced up at the clock and read the time. "Yeah, I guess it is getting past your bedtime."

"Bedtime" Temari replied dryly. "What bedtime?"

"You know, the one Gaara assigned you." Shikamaru replied chuckling.

Temari's previously tired expression vanished completely from her face. Looking around, she found a scroll on the table and smacked him across the head with it.

"Oi...I was just kidding you know. I _am_ injured. This isn't going to help the healing process.." Shikamaru said attempting to placate the angered woman.

Temari scooted away from him and crossed her arms. "Tch, stupid, lazy Shikamaru." She mumbled under her breath.

"Come on, you know I didn't mean it...Temari?"

She threateningly raised the scroll again and waved it in his face. "I'd be more than happy to add to those bruises on your face."

Shikamaru sat back. _"I'd_ be more than happy to leave another mark on your neck..." Shikamaru thought chuckling to himself.

"What's so funny?" Temari demanded.

"N-Nothing... Tch, come on Temari you know I didn't mean what I said. Don't be troublesome."

She put down the scroll and sighed. Although she disliked his teasing, she couldn't help but admit that she was enjoying herself.

"Ne, what were you thinking about just now?" She asked curiously. "The thing that made you laugh."

"It's too troublesome to tell you."

"Hey, I want to know..." Temari replied slightly disappointed.

"I'll never tell."

Their banter was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Shikamaru stood up and sighed. Who could want him at this time of night? Making his way out of the living room, he unlocked the door. He groaned inwardly and regretted opening the door.

"Shikamaru, who's at the door?" He heard Temari ask him from the living room. She jumped over the couch and walked to the door.

"K-Kankurou..." Temari said in a surprised tone.

"Can I come in Shikamaru?"

"Sure..." Shikamaru replied halfheartedly.

Kankurou picked up a small bag he'd been carrying and entered the apartment. A thick silence settled in the room. Temari found herself averting her brother's eyes and glancing at the wall instead. Shikamaru mentally prepared himself for another beating.

"Gaara...told me about what happened..." Kankurou said finally breaking the awkward silence.

"Hmph." Temari replied. "If you came here to get me, you can forget it. I'm not coming home or going anywhere near Gaara until he apologizes and admits he was wrong."

Kankurou placed a hand over his face and sighed. Although he'd been a mediator for Temari and Gaara many times didn't mean he enjoyed it. Part of the reason those two fought was because they were so alike.

"I got him to cool off a little, but he's still pretty...yeah..."Kankurou said while his voice trailed. "So you won't even come home Temari?"

"Nope."

Sighing again, Kankurou handed her the small bag in his hands. "I figured something like this would happen. I brought you some stuff."

Temari smiled. "So you aren't mad Kankurou?"

"Mad? Of course I'm mad. I just have more control over my anger." Kankuro replied flatly.

Temari rolled her eyes. "What's to be mad about? It's my life."

Kankuro raised an eye. "What's to be mad about?" Kankuro stopped there. He clenched his fists and tried to calm himself. "So, the fact that you had my sister pinned against a wall shouldn't register anything in me? "You know what? Don't even ask me that question. I don't even want to get that angry again."

"Angry? Kankurou, do you realize that you and Gaara are stepping out of place? Granted, Gaara is the Kazekage, and you're second in command, but that gives you no right whatsoever to dictate what I can and can't do." Temari's eyes flashed as she finished talking.

Kankurou looked at his sister and remained silent. "Whatever. Just give me a minute to talk alone with Shikamaru."

Temari looked at him suspiciously before turning around and walking away. As soon as she was out of sight, Kankurou's eyes narrowed.

For the second time that day Shikamaru felt himself being pushed against a wall.

"Listen, don't think just because it's me that I'm letting you off the hook. I'm letting her stay here tonight, but don't get any ideas. Pull another stunt like you did today and you'll find yourself where you don't want to be. I talked Gaara out of deporting you, so be thankful." Kankurou released his grip on Shikamaru as he finished talking.

"Thanks Kankurou."

Kankurou nodded. "Remember, try anything weird on her, and I won't think twice about leaving your corpse in the desert."

"R-Right."

Kankurou said a goodnight to Temari before tossing another warning glance Shikamaru's way. He left quietly while Shikamaru closed the door behind him.

"Troublesome..."

"What did Kankurou tell you Shikamaru?"

"Eh, don't worry about it."

Collapsing on the couch, Shikamaru buried his head in the pillows. He felt the couch dip and Temari's hands against his back.

"Let's go sleep troublesome woman." He mumbled through the pillows.

"Hai. Sleep it is."


	15. Chapter 15: Intentions

Disclaimer: Nah...Naruto isn't mine...yet!

**A/N: **This chapter took a wee bit longer than expected. Gomen everyone; I know, I know...I said I would have it up by Friday, but better later than never, right?

Chapter 15

**Intentions**

Kankurou sat opposite his scarlet haired younger brother and yawned. Glancing at Gaara, Kankurou leaned back in the leather chair in front of the desk and crossed his arms behind his head. Gaara's face was calm as he casually flipped through the documents on his desk. Kankurou couldn't read his brother's expression, but he could tell he was thinking. Gaara set the papers down and casually crossed his arms Today was the second day Temari had been away from home, but neither brother had said a word about their absent sister.

Kankurou sighed and decided it was now time to approach the subject. He'd given Gaara and himself enough time to cool off.

"Gaara...what are we going to do about Temari?"

"Hn." Gaara replied quietly.

Kankurou sighed. This situation was rather annoying. Although not angry anymore, he still couldn't believe that his usually levelheaded sister had been caught red handed. He uncrossed and crossed his arms again. Well, he couldn't' exactly be annoyed at Temari, but the thought of his sister and Shikamaru all hot and bothered caused him to cringe.

_At least she's healthy. Maybe a bit too healthy..._

Thoughts of the mission Shikamaru and Temari had been on a few weeks prior suddenly appeared in his head. Kankurou felt his eye twitch. The mystery of the so called "bug bite" had been solved. All the possible scenarios of what Shikamaru and Temari had done on their mission **alone** flooded his mind. Kankurou shuddered slightly. His sister had been corrupted.

Gaara raised an eye at the many strange faces Kankurou was making. He could tell he was thinking, but what had captured his attention was yet to be discovered.

"Kankurou, what's wrong?"

Kankurou fixed his face and waved his hands. "N-Nothing Gaara."

**-------------------**

Shikamaru rested a palm against the shower wall. Sighing, he raised his face and let the warm water flow freely through his hair. He turned the water off and simply stood in the shower. Leaning against the wall, Shikamaru watched the small droplets of water race down his skin and plummet onto the floor below. He ran a hand against his stomach and noted that the bruises on his stomach were still evident, but less painful.

The night before had gone by rather smoothly. True to Kankurou's warnings he'd contained himself and hadn't made any moves on Temari. Shikamaru wasn't quite ready to cross over into the other world just yet.

Pushing the door open, Shikamaru stepped out of his shower and retrieved a towel from the rack. Drying himself off, he briskly ran the towel through his damp hair and tossed it back on the counter. Quickly dressing himself, he walked to the other end of the bathroom and pushed the door open.

Temari looked up from the bed and smiled. She was wearing the clothes Kankurou had brought for her the night before. The well fitted green v-neck shirt had the Suna emblem stitched on the sleeves. The matching shorts she was wearing had the same emblem on the front pockets.

"Ohayo."

"Ohayo Temari." Shikamaru replied back as he made his way to the bed and sat down.

Temari yawned and stretched lazily on bed. She noticed Shikamaru eyeing her figure as she rolled over and scooted towards him. Temari smirked. She hadn't known Shikamaru to be one to ogle, but then again this would be rather fun to tease him with.

"Oi...what are you looking at?" Temari asked innocently.

"Hmm? Nothing really."

"Oh? Well if I didn't know better, I would say that you were just checking me out. I don't think my brothers would appreciate that you know."

"Pff, since when does what they say matter to you?"

Temari opened her mouth reply but was silenced as she felt herself being pushed against the bed. With her back pressed against the bed, she noticed the scheming smirk on Shikamaru's lips as he hovered over her.

"Yes?" She asked brazenly from her position underneath him.

His smirked widened at her reply. "And what if I _was_ checking you out?"

"Well, that would be rather troublesome." Temari said adding extra emphasis to the word troublesome.

"Heh, are you going do something about it?" Shikamaru replied huskily in her ear.

Temari shivered, but responded quickly. "Yeah." Shikamaru watched her slender fingers run up his arms and down his chest. She lightly tugged on his shirt and beckoned him closer to her.

Shikamaru complied and closed the distance between them. Temari took this opportunity pressed a kiss against his neck. Grabbing his shirt, she pulled it up and raised it over his head. Shikamaru raised his arms and tossed the shirt on the floor. She pressed against his bare chest and brought her lips up to his. Brushing across his lips, Temari pulled away and kissed his chest instead. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she pulled herself up and nibbled his earlobe.

Shikamaru shook his head and smirked. She was teasing him. Shikamaru took her wrists in his hands and once again pressed her against the bed. Temari's face clearly displayed her annoyance at being displaced.

"Shika-" He cut her off and kissed her. His fingers ran down her sides and tickled her. Shikamaru felt her beginning to laugh beneath him, but continued kissing her. Temari couldn't find the strength to resist him and allowed him to continue dominating the kiss. Sliding his hand under her, his fingers crept down and lightly squeezed her behind.

"Shikamaru!" Temari exclaimed breaking the kiss. Her face was flushed as Shikamaru began chuckling. Grabbing a pillow, she took it and smacked it against his head.

He took the pillow from her hands and tossed it aside. Crossing his arms, he merely looked at Temari. Although a genius, he could never understand how he could be kissing her one moment, and then she would be beating on him in the next moment.

"Oi, you know you're really in no position to be picking a fight with me." Shikamaru said confidently.

Temari merely rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Oh? Are you testing my patience?" Shikamaru replied.

Temari said nothing, but shot a bold expression his way.

Shikamaru pinned her arms against the bed and raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't start something you can't finish Sabaku no Temari."

"Don't lecture me!" Temari shot back hotly.

Shikamaru let out an exasperated sigh and shrugged. They were going to have to do this the hard way. Before she could think of another bold comment, Shikamaru straddled her hips and swiftly brought his face down and teased the skin between her breasts with his lips.

Temari whimpered quietly and tried to keep herself from calling out his name in pleasure. Bringing his head up, Shikamaru gave her a knowing look.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say Temari?" He said smugly.

"N-Nothing." Temari quickly tried to compose herself and attempted to free herself from Shikamaru.

Pressing down more forcefully, Shikamaru kept her from moving. "And where do you think you're going troublesome woman?"

Temari huffed and turned her face away. "Jerk."

"Hmm, how about you make that noise again?" Shikamaru said as he once again teased the skin on her chest. Although Temari fought herself to keep from giving in, another pleasurable whimper escaped her lips.

"Yeah, that noise." Shikamaru said smirking.

Chuckling, Shikamaru rolled off and laid next to her. Temari curled up next to him and rested her head on his chest. Extending her hand, she pinched his arm.

"Ow, what was that for?" Shikamaru stated in an annoyed tone.

"For being you."

"Tch, you better be nicer to me. I gave you a bed to sleep in last night."

Lightly punching him in the stomach, Temari moved closer to Shikamaru. "You can't kick me out. You're having too much fun."

"Hmm, I dunno. Watching the clouds is pretty high on my list you know."

"And so is teasing me." Temari replied.

"Oh no. I just do that to pass the time." Shikamaru said as a smile crept up his lips.

"Tch, you lazy baka."

"You troublesome woman."

Shikamaru stretched out his arm and brought her closer to him. Nuzzling her neck, Temari felt his teeth lightly scraping against her neck. Quickly retrieving a pillow Temari playfully pushed him away. "Shikamaru, behave."

"Don't worry. I won't leave marks this time." Shikamaru replied with his fingers crossed against his back.

Smirking, Temari squirmed away from his embrace and jumped off the bed. "You're just going to have to catch me first." And with that, Temari dashed out of his room and into another portion of the apartment.

Shikamaru sighed lazily and swung his legs over the bed. He had chosen a troublesome woman indeed, but then again one had to work for all the good things in life.

**-----------------**

Gaara quietly walked down the halls in his office. Most people had gone by now, but he decided to stay. His footsteps echoed throughout and disturbed the stillness of the office. The calm office helped his thinking process. Although he was alone, the thoughts in his mind seem to come and go intermittently. He sighed as his mind eventually turned to his sister.

He would admit that beating the living goodness out of Shikamaru wasn't something he should have done. He'd acted rather impetuously, but then again he wasn't exactly sorry. His mind vividly replayed the scene of his sister pressed against a wall, biting her lip and quietly moaning Shikamaru's name as he kissed her. The picture of Temari's lustful smile was etched in the back of his mind.

He'd expected her to ignore Shikamaru as she had done to many men before. The entire thing continued eating away at him because he knew **she **had wanted it too. Shikamaru aside, Gaara knew she was enjoying it. He wasn't one to deprive his sister, but the thought of Shikamaru alleviating his sister's desires was somewhat daunting.

Gaara sighed quietly. This was something he couldn't win. Personally, he had nothing against Shikamaru. Sure, he was lazy, but apparently Temari was attracted to that. Deep down, he knew Shikamaru would take care of his sister. Temari couldn't be too angry with him. She would know he only did what he did because he cared. Seeing his sister hurt by any man was not something Sabaku no Gaara would allow. Ever.

Reaching his own office, Gaara pushed the door open and saw Kankurou standing by the balcony looking out into the cool desert night.

"Kankurou, you're still here."

Nodding, Kankurou turned away from the balcony. "Yeah, it's pretty boring at home."

Walking behind his desk, Gaara settled down in his comfortable leather chair. He leaned back and closed his eyes. He would have to be the one to swallow his pride and go see his sister. He doubted Shikamaru would ever want to see him again, but that was beside the point.

"Kankurou..."

"Yes?"

"I think I need to go visit with our sister."

"Heh, it's about time."

Gaara opened an eye and glanced at his elder brother. "What do you think about them?"

"Temari and Shikamaru?"

Gaara nodded.

"It's..._interesting._ I'm surprised they aren't fighting all the time." Kankurou replied skeptically. "I still can't believe he had the guts to pull a stunt in the office. I guess you have to watch out for those lazy ones."

Gaara leaned forward and stood up. "I'll see you at home in awhile Kankurou."

"Alright. Bring our lovesick sister back."

Gaara nodded.

_This will be interesting. Let's hope Temari will listen._

**---------------**

Gaara raised his fist to knock when he heard Shikamaru and Temari's voices through the door.

"Oi, Temari come back."

"Pfft, you lazy shinobi. I don't know how they made you a jounin.

"Troublesome woman."

"Well, you'll just have to keep chasing this troublesome woman or you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."

"On the couch?" Shikamaru replied dryly. "What did I do?" _Hell, this is__** my**__ apartment._

"For being lazy of course." Temari replied back boldly.

Gaara listened to the sound of clattering objects and things being tossed around.

"Oi...quit tossing my stuff at me Temari."

"All's fair in love and war Shikamaru."

Shikamaru groaned and sighed. They were going to have to do things the hard way, yet again. Swiftly making hand signs, he sighed loudly again and trapped Temari in his trademark shadow jutsu.

Temari groaned. Now she was in **trouble**. Smirking, Shikamaru crossed his arms and stood in front of her.

"Oi...you're using jutsu! That's not fair." Temari protested.

"All's fair in love and war." Shikamaru replied imitating what Temari had said previously.

Wondering what could possibly going on in there, Gaara let his hand fall to his side. His eyes grew wider as he continued listening.

"Let's go to bed troublesome woman."

"It's only 8:15 Shikamaru. It's too early to sleep."

"Sleep? Who said anything about going to sleep?" Shikamaru replied shamelessly while chuckling wickedly.

Gaara froze as her heard his sister. It was somewhat muffled, but he was sure he could hear her...giggling. Temari **never** giggled.

Shikamaru was just releasing the jutsu when he discovered sand carefully making its way through the cracks under the door. This action was followed by the sound of someone pounding furiously on the other side of the door.

Shikamaru opened the door and felt his heart drop into his bowels.

"G-Gaara..."

"Gaara?" Temari's interest perked at her brother's name.

Temari was surprised to find her brother's face somewhat flushed. From the pinkish complexion on his face, Temari could have almost sworn that her brother looked embarrassed.

Gaara looked sideways and felt a wave of relief wash over him. He shuddered at the thought of what Shikamaru and his sister could have been doing if he hadn't interrupted them at that moment. Images of Temari pinned against the wall haunted him again.

"I came to speak with you two." Gaara said calmly.

Shikamaru nodded and allowed him to come inside. Gaara followed Shikamaru into the living room and sat down across from him and Temari. The annoyance was clearly written on her face, but Gaara ignored that for the moment.

"Are you here to lecture me Gaara?" Temari asked her crimson haired brother. "Or are you here to beat on Shikamaru some more?"

"No." Gaara replied coolly.

"Then what are you here for?"

Gaara crossed his arms and stared directly at Shikamaru. "What kind of intentions do you have with my sister?"

Shikamaru grappled in his mind for the correct words. "G-Good ones..."

Gaara eyed him carefully. He studied his face to find any indications that might allude to Shikamaru lying.

"Do you have her best interests in mind Shikamaru?"

"Yes."

"Can you take care of her?"

"Yes."

"Fine." Gaara stated finally.

Temari stared at her brother incredulously. Was this the same man that had been so against her and Shikamaru? She almost couldn't believe how easily that had been settled. Standing up, she walked toward her brother and smiled. Wrapping her arms around him, she lightly kissed his fiery red hair.

Gaara looked away and allowed his sister to hug him.

"Pick up your things Temari. Let's go home." Gaara said while standing up.

Temari nodded and disappeared into the bedroom leaving Gaara and Shikamaru alone in the living room.

"Gaara...I...about the other night." Shikamaru's voice trailed.

Gaara waved him off. "We'll talk about that later."

Temari returned from the room and smiled. "Ok, let's go."

Shikamaru walked the Gaara and Temari to the door.

Gaara nodded a goodbye to Shikamaru.

"Oyasumi Shikamaru."

"Hai,oyasumi Temari."

Temari watched Shikamaru close the door behind him. Walking into the cool night, she fell in step with her brother. She affectionately ruffled his hair as they quietly made their way through the quiet Suna streets. She knew his initial disproval had only been because he was worried, but now at least he was beginning to trust Shikamaru. Temari smirked; the next few weeks would prove to be interesting.


	16. Chapter 16: Orders

Disclaimer: Naruto is mine right? Hmm? HMM? Nah...well...not yet...

**A/N: **I have been so horrible with updating lately. I swear something has come over me. Shame on me for being lazy... I know I shouldn't be slapped over the eyes by all my annoyed readers. Lol.

Chapter 16

**Orders**

Temari sat leisurely on the roof of the Kazekage tower. Scanning the buildings below her, she casually swung her legs over the edge. The warm morning sun glided over the town as a balmy breeze tickled her skin. Carefully shielding her eyes, she noted the sun steadily rising in the lightly colored cobalt sky. Although it was still early, Temari knew in less than an hour Suna would once again be enveloped in activity.

Sighing, she couldn't help the small smile that captured her lips. A little over a month had passed since Gaara had discovered her and Shikamaru that fateful night in his office. Things had gone smoothly once she'd received Gaara and Kankurou's approval. Temari smirked. It really hadn't mattered whether her brothers had permitted her and Shikamaru's relationship. Even the two most deadly men in Suna couldn't keep her away from that lazy nin she'd become fond of. Both brothers still gave Shikamaru small warning looks every now and then when they saw him with Temari, but Shikamaru had become accustomed to it.

She and Shikamaru had become quite the talk of Suna now. Although both of them were private people, somehow people were still determined to find out every detail that went on between them. A large portion of the male population in Suna had also become very disappointed at the announcement of Sabaku no Temari being taken. Honestly, it wouldn't have made any difference since most, if not all, were accustomed to admiring Temari from afar, but that was their business.

As the days flew by, Shikamaru would try to meet her as much as he could, but both of them were busy. When they were together, Temari would pester him to stop being lazy and get out to take walks with her.

On one of these walks, Temari had seen something in Shikamaru she secretly valued. It was only for a fleeting moment, but Shikamaru had noticed another man admiring Temari. She saw a small look of jealousy cross his face before he tossed a warning look to the man and continued walking with Temari. As fast as his expression had changed, his lazy look of indifference had once again presided over his face. It was a small and insignificant thing, but Temari had noted it in the back of her mind.

Landing next to her, a kunai whizzed past her and disturbed her current thoughts. Temari retrieved the small, metal dagger and twirled it around in her fingers. It wasn't until then that she noticed the small scrap of paper wrapped around the handle. Carefully pulling it off, Temari read the message scrawled in familiar handwriting.

_Yo. Our favorite Kazekage asked me to do some things for him today. He's making me leave early, which is troublesome, but whatever. I guess I'll be back around noon or so. I'll see you later._

_Shikamaru_

Temari quickly finished reading and looked down just in time to catch a glimpse of his rich, coffee colored hair exiting the Suna gates. Running her fingers in between the four sectioned pony tails on her head, Temari chuckled. Shikamaru didn't seem like the type to writer love letters. Granted, that wasn't exactly a **love** letter, but it was somewhat close. A few more words and it could have qualified to be one.

Standing up, Temari turned around and walked toward the door that led to the stairs. There were plenty of things to do until Shikamaru returned. After all, she wasn't the type to sit around and count the seconds until he returned.

**----------------**

Shikamaru nodded at the Suna nin walking next to him. The casual talk between the two men made the journey from Suna into the wooded area less boring. There was to be a brief exchange of information between Suna and Konoha in the forest today. Knowing that he might appreciate to see one of his friends from his home village, Gaara had assigned Shikamaru to take the mission. Shielding his eyes away from the sun, Shikamaru yawned. He wasn't exactly thrilled that he had to leave so early, but at least one good thing had come out of it. He'd caught a glance of Temari that morning. Impulsively, he'd written her a note and tossed it on a kunai.

Shikamaru held back the small smile that threatened to disturb his lazy expression. Maybe being attracted to overbearing women wasn't such a bad thing? Of course Temari was indeed a handful, but that challenge had its perks. And yes, there was the aspect of dealing with her brothers, but things were steadily improving. Even if it annoyed him at times, he knew Gaara and Kankurou were only watching out for their only sister.

Kankurou admitted to him that Gaara was somewhat jealous of the way Shikamaru had captured their sister's attention. Regardless of how he felt, he knew it would have been selfish of him to keep Shikamaru away from his sister.

The two men continued trekking through the dense woods until they decided to take a short break to drink some water and catch their breath.

"How much farther until the meeting place?" Shikamaru asked after he'd finished his water.

"Just a little bit more." The other nin replied.

Crouching down, Shikamaru leaned against the sturdy trunk of a tree and rested his head against it. He raised his eyes and lazily watched the clouds drifting by against the sky's light blue backdrop.

"So..." The other shinobi said as his voice trailed. "Are you _really_ with Temari-san?"

Shikamaru felt his lips turning upward in a smirk. He wasn't oblivious to the fact that he'd become the mortal enemy of a large percentage of the men in Suna.

"Yeah; I am." He replied while trying to conceal the hint of smugness in his voice.

"Heh, I'm jealous man. I'd give an arm and a leg to be with her." He said as he stood up and began walking.

Shikamaru stretched before standing up and following the other man. "Hn."

"What's your secret huh? What did you do?"

"Secret?" Shikamaru replied inquisitively.

"Yeah, you must have done something special. Plus, the Kazekage didn't kill you."

Shikamaru chuckled. _He didn't kill me, but he came damn well close to it._

"I didn't do anything. At least not that I know of; Temari is just a troublesome woman."

"I see."

As they continued walking the two men approached a clearing in the woods. From his position he made out the forms of two shinobi in the middle of the clearing. Shikamaru immediately recognized the two figures once they neared the center of the wide space.

"Heh, long time no see guys." Shikamaru said smiling.

Choji and Naruto greeted their friend warmly.

"Konoha has been empty without our favorite shadow shinobi." Naruto said gleefully.

"Hahah, I think you'll live." Shikamaru replied while smirking slightly.

"Oh, that's right. You don't want to come back to Konoha do you?" Choji said raising an eyebrow at Shikamaru.

"And why is that?" Shikamaru asked.

"We know all about you and Temari-san." Naruto said cutting in. "Shikamaru finally got himself a woman!"

Unexpectedly, a small patch of red appeared on Shikamaru's cheeks. "Oh shut up."

"Aww look. Shikamaru's blushing."

"How did you guys know about it anyway?" Shikamaru asked while rubbing away the redness on his cheeks.

"Everyone knows Shikamaru." Naruto said boisterously. Narrowing his eyes to slits and glancing around him suspiciously Naruto lowered his voice and asked "so...have you pulled any of your shadow moves on Temari yet? Hmm? Or has Gaara banned you from that?"

Lightly punching Naruto on the arm, Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "We should be getting to the exchange now."

Smiling Choji retrieved the scrolls from his pack. "True. If Shikamaru doesn't want to discuss his things, there are other ways to find out. We have our sources, don't we Naruto?"

"Indeed Choji."

"Oi, what are you two talking about? Who's telling you guys everything?" Shikamaru asked his friends.

Naruto and Choji merely smirked at their friend. The shinobi that had accompanied Shikamaru pulled two cylinders from his pack and handed them over to Choji.

"Here, straight from the Kazekage."

"Thanks." Naruto said as Choji put them in his own pack and slung it over his shoulder.

"Well, we'll be off now. Be nice to Temari Shikamaru." Naruto said as he turned and walked away with Choji.

"Tch, you need to tell her to be nice to me. That troublesome woman keeps hitting me over the head with that damned fan any time she wants to."

"Hai hai. Good seeing you Shikamaru." Choji said smiling.

Shikamaru nodded a goodbye. The appearance of his friends made him slightly yearn for his home. After all, it had been almost three months since he'd been in Suna.

Shikamaru watched his friends disappear into the forest before turning around and walking in the opposite direction. The other Suna nin walked in step with him as they continued back to Suna.

**------------------**

Shikamaru yawned and wearily trudged through the corridors of the Kazekage office. Walking through the sun that morning had made him sleepy. As soon as he'd delivered the scrolls, he would be off to his apartment for a short nap.

Gaara heard two sharp knocks sound through his wooden door.

"Come in."

The door was pushed open and behind it was a tired-looking Shikamaru.

"You're back."

"Hai, it was a pretty fast mission."

"Who was at the exchange?"

"Mmm, Choji and Naruto."

"I see."

Making his way toward his desk, Shikamaru pulled out the scrolls he'd received and placed them in front of Gaara.

Gaara opened one and nodded at him. Shikamaru took this as a signal to leave and turned and slowly walked toward the door.

"Shikamaru?"

The weary nin carefully turned around.

"There's some information in this scroll for you."

"For me?"

Nodding, Gaara tossed the scroll Shikamaru's way. Quickly unrolling it, Shikamaru read the contents. From the seal in the top left hand corner, Shikamaru knew it was from Tsunade.

_Shikamaru, you've been doing well in your shinobi exchange. It would be nice if you sent your mission reports on time, but I don't know if that will ever happen. Regardless, since your stay is almost over and everything appears to be going well on your end, I'm requesting for you to withdraw from Suna and return to Konoha. I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear this. See, I'm being nice and letting you come home early. This letter should only take three days at the most to reach you, so I'm expecting you home a few days after you've received this. Thank you for participating in the shinobi exchange for Konoha._

_Sincerely,_

_Tsunade_

Shikamaru sighed inaudibly as soon as he finished reading the letter. Normally, this would have been great news for him, but right now this wasn't something he wanted to hear. Rolling up the cylinder he bowed lightly and thanked Gaara before leaving his office. His brows were furrowed as he slowly walked through the halls. Although Tsunade expected him back in Konoha in a few days, he'd have to find some way to overrule her order.

Different plans began unfurling in his mind as he neared the exit. Shikamaru was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Kana waving to him from the reception desk.

Kana noticed his troubled expression as he walked out of the office.

"Shika-kun?..."

Lightly tapping a pen on the desk, Kana wondered what could have been wrong with him. He'd seemed fine when he stopped by the office earlier that morning. Hoping things between Shikamaru and Temari were fine, Kana resumed her work.

**---------------**

"Something's wrong with Shikamaru?" Temari asked slightly surprised. Sitting across from Kana, she rested her head on her palms. Temari could have sworn he was fine by the note he left her that morning.

"Well I saw him after he came back from his mission, and I waved and called out to him, but he didn't even respond. He just kept on walking out of the office. He looked like he was thinking about something important too." Kana said while straightening the papers she was preparing to file.

"Really? Hmm, that's weird. Everything seemed fine when I got a note from him before he left this morning." Temari fingered the fabric of her uniform and sighed. "Do you know what Gaara sent him to do this morning?"

"It was just an information exchange with Konoha."

"With Konoha?" Temari asked inquisitively. _He must have received some news from home then._

"Mhmm, with Konoha." Kana replied. "Ne, Temari? Things between you two are ok, right?"

Temari nodded. "Yeah, things are fine."

"Alright. I just wanted to make sure." Kana replied reassuringly.

Stretching, Temari stood up and smiled. "Don't worry; I'll talk to him about it later." She left the reception desk and walked toward her younger brother's office. She needed to drop off progress reports on her genin team before leaving for that day. Her thoughts soon left Shikamaru and turned to her team and preparing them for the fast approaching chuunin exams.

**--------------**

Temari quickly bounded up the stairs on knocked on Shikamaru's apartment door. She'd quickly finished her work for Gaara that day in order to pay Shikamaru a quick visit. Knocking twice, she waited a few moments before she heard the sound of shuffling feet and him unlocking the door. The door slowly creaked open revealing a slightly disheveled Shikamaru. His hair had been freed from its ponytail and his thick dark hair swarmed around his face. From the way he looked, Temari assumed he had been sleeping. With the exception of his wrinkled clothing, Temari thought he looked somewhat adorable.

"Hey..." Temari said as soon as he'd opened the door and let her in.

"Yo."

"Did your mission go well?"

"It was fine." He replied in a tired voice.

Shikamaru turned away from her and retreated to the couch. Temari raised an eyebrow at his back. Kana was right, there was something wrong. His voice was usually lazy, but now it just sounded worn out. His eyes seemed to be drooping somewhat too. She sat next him on the couch and waited for him to speak. The moments inched by and a thick silence settled in between the two of them. The clock ticked steadily and seemed to cut through the stillness. After a few moments, Temari repositioned herself and rested her head in his lap. Shikamaru smiled faintly and lightly ran his fingers through her thick honey colored hair. Temari watched his eyes roam around the room before stopping and meeting hers.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, Shikamaru finally spoke.

"Temari."

"Yes?"

"I'm leaving Suna."

"What?!" Temari exclaimed as her head shot out of his lap. Unable to find anything to say, she simply stared at him in disbelief.


	17. Chapter 17: Missed You

Disclaimer: Naruto and I? Yada...

Chapter 17

**Missed You**

_I'm leaving Suna._

Shikamaru's words resonated in her mind as she continued looking at him. Finally, her thoughts calmed, and she collected herself.

"Why?"

"Tsunade wants me to come back. The shinobi exchange is over."

"It hasn't been three months yet though."

"I know. The letter just said that I could come home early."

"I see." Sitting up, Temari sat against the couch and sighed. She pulled the ponytails out of her hair and slid the hair ties on her arms. Temari ran her hands through the silky, honey hair as it tumbled to the nape of her neck. Sighing again, this time inaudibly, she closed her eyes and sunk farther into the couch's soft material.

"So, what are you going to do..." She asked tentatively.

"I'm going I guess." He replied quietly. Shikamaru carefully studied Temari's face from his position on the couch. Her chest gently rose and fell with every breath, while her face was strangely calm despite her previous reactions to his declaration.

She watched some small wisps of colored light form shapes and dart across the surface of her closed eyes. The blackness of her eyelids calmed Temari somewhat. Even with closed eyes, she could feel Shikamaru watching her. For a moment, she wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him to stay. For a moment, she wanted to kiss him and call him an idiot. But as quickly as those thoughts appeared, they were just as swiftly pushed back. Sabaku no Temari didn't beg anyone for anything. She sat there and slowly allowed her pride to override her feelings for him.

The small tears she felt a few minutes ago were now seared by the flames of her pride. She opened her eyes and allowed them to meet Shikamaru's. Temari felt her eyes melting into the deep russet pools that stared back at her. She fought the urge to run her fingers across the smooth skin on his face. In that moment, the realization of what Shikamaru had said slowly began sinking in.

After he left, she wouldn't be able to see him like this. She couldn't just stop by his apartment after work, there would be no more walks, or sparring sessions, or anything. Her lip trembled slightly before she recovered her spirit of self sufficiency. _I've lived without him before; I can do it again._

Shikamaru read her face clearly. He saw the sadness in her face replaced with her typical confident expression. He knew no words would be appropriate for the current situation. Shikamaru extended his arm and pulled her closer. She resisted a little, but Shikamaru ignored it.

"Shikamaru...don't."

His arms encompassed her slim waist and held her in place. Leaning his forehead against hers, he smiled lightly.

"Stop fighting with yourself troublesome woman."

She made a face at him before looking away. "Baka."

He turned her face towards him and pressed a small kiss against her lips. The kiss was soft and chaste, matching the quiet atmosphere. Shikamaru pulled away slowly and cupped Temari's cheek with his hand. He saw the hidden sadness in her eyes, mingled with want. He too, craved the taste of her lips and the feel of her smooth skin on his, but now was not the time.

Temari blinked and released herself from his arms.

"When are you leaving?" She asked, the richness of her voice concealing what she truly felt.

"Day after tomorrow."

"Heh, so soon? It's odd for you not to procrastinate about things."

"Tsunade-sama gave me a small allotment of to gather my things after I received the letter. It takes at least two days to reach Konoha from here; I'm sure she doesn't want me wasting time here.

Despite the situation, Temari felt her lips curve upward in a smirk. It was unlike him to be so methodic. Where was the lazy Shikamaru who shirked responsibilities and took naps in deserted corners of the Kazekage's office when he thought no one was looking? This man never ceased to make her wonder.

Standing up, she straightened her hair and banished the sadness she felt to the farthest corner of her mind. She would keep face; if not for him then for herself.

"Well then, I guess the next time I see you will be in Konoha." She said in her normal voice as convincingly as she could.

"Seems that way." He replied calmly

"Take care of yourself Shikamaru."

"You too; heh, and no more vanishing from hospital rooms."

She threw him in annoyed expression before she crossed the threshold of the door and disappeared in the blazing sun outside.

Biting her lip as she went, Temari pushed herself to sprint faster as she dashed between rooftops. Finally, she arrived at her destination. The wind swept over the deserted training ground, whirling clouds of dust and sand along with it. Positioning herself behind a large dune, Temari crouched down and tucked her knees under her chin. Running her palms against the ground, she fisted the sand in her hands. The dry, warm texture calmed her as she opened her fist and watched the grains gently glide back to the ground. She mindlessly fingered a kunai in her pocket as she sat concealed behind the dune. Tossing the dagger aside, she forcefully punched the sand and sighed.

**--------------**

Shikamaru sank into his couch. Temari had only been gone for a few moments, and he already wished she would return. He'd expected her to throw things at him, hit him over the head with her fan repeatedly, he'd prepared himself for some kind of injury, but she did nothing.

Her face hadn't betrayed her but, Shikamaru knew. It had been said that the eyes were the gateway to a person's heart, and this was no different with Temari. He'd watched the silent conflict in her eyes as she sat with him. Shikamaru had seen the initial discontent, only to be squelched by anger. Finally, both of those were overtaken by cool look of independence and pride. He saw the heat rise in her eyes and sear away any signs of weakness.

Crossing his arms behind his head, Shikamaru lay on the couch and stared at the blank, white ceiling. The next few days were something he wasn't looking forward to.

**----------------**

Temari sat cross-legged in Gaara's office balcony. The previous day seemed to be a blur in her mind. Part of her was relieved she hadn't encountered Shikamaru today. Quite frankly, she wouldn't have known what to say to him, yet it stung.

It hadn't fazed her at first, but the more she thought about it the more her heart sank. Temari almost wished away her pride. Despite what she felt, she said nothing to stop him. Temari wished she could have shed her harsh exterior and asked him to stay.

Shaking her head, Temari exiled those thoughts. Shikamaru had been summoned back to his village. It would have been childish of her to ask him to stay. After all, he was a grown man. If he'd wanted to stay, he would have.

Stretching out her legs, she continued basking in the sun. Temari turned at the sound of the French doors opening. Kankurou stepped out and stood next to her.

"Yo."

"Hey." She replied.

"Enjoying baking yourself?" He asked teasingly.

Temari nodded. A pause settled in as Kankurou leaned against the wall and crossed his arms behind his back.

"Shikamaru left Suna this morning." Kankurou said cutting through the silence.

"W-What?" A dark look passed over Temari's face. "He told me he wasn't going until tomorrow."

"That's what he planned originally, but I heard him speaking with Gaara this morning. He said it was urgent that he leave for Konoha immediately."

"I see."

"Gomen, Temari." Kankurou placed a hand on his sister's shoulder.

Temari smiled at him. "Kankurou, don't worry about it."

Standing from her position, Temari reassuringly smiled again at her brother before turning the knob on the glass doors and shutting them with a tight clicking sound.

Clenching her fists as she walked, Temari left her work unfinished for that day and quickly strode through the long corridors and out of the doors of the Kazekage office. Her vision blurred slightly as she made her way to his apartment as quickly as she could. Banging loudly on the door, she half expected him to turn up and open the door. She anticipated seeing his face with that lazy grin he always wore, but she heard nothing. Only silence and the sound of her own banging answered her.

"Shikamaru, you jerk." She said aloud as she struck the door once again. Temari angrily shook her head as she left the apartment without looking back.

**------------------**

Shikamaru swiftly made his way from branch to branch as he jumped through the air. His legs were tired, but he pushed himself to continue. He'd been traveling for several hours now, hoping to advance as far as he could today. Temari must have known he was gone by now. He'd left early this morning, hoping to avoid an awkward situation with her.

Despite the thick awning of leaves, the sun mercilessly beat down on his back. His shirt clung to his skin as he felt the sweat rolling down his back. Gulping in air, Shikamaru focused his chakra and continued running.

**-------------**

Shikamaru felt a sense of nostalgia wash over him as he entered Konoha. Tired and hungry, he nodded at the man guarding the gate as he trudged through the familiar streets. Now accustomed to the dust of Suna, Shikamaru relished in the clean air and sand free streets of Konoha. Making his way down the familiar route, Shikamaru smiled and stood in front of his house. Quickly unlocking the door, a wave of stale, humid air washed over him as he stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind. Shikamaru dumped his belongings on the floor and opened a window.

Resting his head on the table, he fought the drowsiness that overcame him. He'd managed to make it to Konoha in one and a half days. His legs ached and he wished for the energy to get up and take a shower.

Pulling himself up, Shikamaru staggered into his room. Sitting on his bed, he removed his shirt and fell back on the mattress. Promising himself he'd only rest for a few minutes, Shikamaru closed his eyes and slept. With every breath, his tired body pulled him farther from consciousness and deeper into sleep.

**---------------**

A muffled knocking resounded through the house and finally made its way to Shikamaru's ears. Rolling over in the bed, Shikamaru groaned loudly and wished whoever was at the door would go away. The knocking persisted, forcing him to lift his heavy eyelids. The sun brightly streamed in through his windows irritating his eyes and he slowly opened them.

Forcing himself out of bed, Shikamaru unwillingly trudged out of his room. Squinting as he walked, he made his way to the door and opened it.

"Yo." A familiar, deep voice said.

Opening his eyes, Shikamaru managed a lopsided grin at his visitor. "Asuma-san..."

**---------------**

A few minutes later, Shikamaru and Asuma were seated at his table discussing things over cool glasses of water.

"Tch, Asuma-san you didn't even let me sleep. I just got on the bed about ten minutes ago."

"Ten minutes ago?" Asuma deep laughter echoed in the small kitchen. "Oi, Shikamaru, you've been sleeping for two days now."

"EH?"

"I heard from the guards that you had arrived in Konoha two days ago, so I decided to stop by."

"Kami, I didn't think I'd been asleep that long." Shikamaru said incredulously while rubbing his face and stretching. "I'm still tired as hell too."

"I'm surprised after that much sleep. Shikamaru, don't become a sleep glutton."

"Sleep glutton?" Shikamaru said dryly. "If I'm a sleep glutton, you're a cigarette glutton Asuma-san."

"I guess that's right." Asuma said unashamedly. "So...I've been hearing things about you and a certain woman in Suna."

Shikamaru's faced softened somewhat at Asuma's question.

"Is it true? Have you finally found a woman Shikamaru?"

"Maybe..."

"Ah...so it's true."

Shikamaru nodded.

"Then why are you here in Konoha?" Asuma asked suddenly.

"Because I was ordered to return." Shikamaru said without any particular feeling in his voice.

"You left your woman back in Suna?" Asuma replied skeptically. "You're using being ordered back to Konoha as an excuse."

Shikamaru said nothing. His eyes wandered around the room before they finally settled on his cup. He watched the condensed droplets of water slowly roll down the sides of his cup. The ice made a soft clinking sound as Asuma raised his glass and took a sip of the cool liquid.

"Listen Shikamaru, don't be foolish and do something you'll regret; go back."

Standing up, he placed his hand on Shikamaru's shoulder and smiled. "Go back to her Shikamaru." Asuma said before he waved and left the kitchen. Shikamaru heard the front door close with a firm click. Sighing, he drummed his fingers on his table as he reflected on Asuma's words.

Undoubtedly, he knew he missed her. He missed her brazen attitude; he missed the way she glared at him when she was annoyed, he even missed occasionally being smacked by her fan. Standing up, Shikamaru walked up to his room and quickly changed. There was something he had to do. It certainly was troublesome, but then again he was dealing with one troublesome woman.

Changed and ready, Shikamaru dashed out of his room and towards the Hokage office. Bursting through the doors, he quickly made his way down the long corridors and to Tsunade's office.

Forgetting to knock, Shikamaru pushed the door open and stood staring at a surprised Tsunade.

"Sh-Shikamaru?"

"Tsunade-sama...I need to speak with you..."

**-------------------**

Temari yawned as she walked from a far corner in the Kazekage office. Gaara had sent her with a document to deliver to someone on the extreme end of the building yet again. Rolling her eyes, Temari wondered why Gaara couldn't have just employed his sand and used it to deliver things throughout the office. She'd been working the entire day, and now Gaara was using her as another secretary. She would have to have a word about this with him later. Secretarial duties were not part of her job.

Knocking lightly on his door, Temari poked her head into the room.

"Ne Gaara, I'm taking a break. I'll be back in about half an hour."

"I still have things for you to deliver."

"Well you'll just have to enlist Kankurou to be your runner. See you later." Quickly closing the door, Temari left before her brother had a chance to reply. Smirking as she walked, Temari relished in her position as the eldest; Gaara might have been the Kazekage, but she could still tell him what to do.

Making her way up the stairs to the roof, Temari settled on the edge and watched the city below her. Despite the altitude, it was still one of her favorite spots to sit and think. From her position, she could see everything that went on in the town. She smiled at the sight of people friendly greeting each other, and old ladies haggling vendors to bring down the prices of their merchandise.

Lifting her head to the sky, Temari's smile slowly vanished. Shikamaru had been gone almost five days now. She'd distracted herself by busying herself with work. She complained about Gaara sending her on multiple errands, but she knew he only did it to keep her thoughts off Shikamaru. Now alone with her thoughts, Temari retrieved a shuriken from her pocket and lightly scratched the surface of the roof.

"I wish you'd come back you troublesome Shikamaru." Temari said aloud quietly.

"Heh, I didn't think you wanted me back." A familiar voice replied from behind.

Whipping her head around, Temari found herself face to face with Shikamaru. His eyes looked tired, and a few places on his face and uniform were smeared with dirt. Despite the smudges of dirt on his face, she saw him fighting a small grin.

"Shikamaru?"

Walking towards the edge of the roof, he sat down beside her.

"I decided to come back to you troublesome woman."

Digging her fingers into her palms, Temari forced herself to keep from erupting in a smile.

"Why?..." She asked while keeping her voice steady.

"Because...because I have to stay here and keep you in line troublesome woman." Shikamaru replied teasingly.

"Tch bak-" Shikamaru cut Temari off with a kiss before she could finish her sentence. Encircling his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer and continued kissing her. Pulling away, Shikamaru rested his head against her and gently planted kisses on her collarbone.

Temari nestled herself next to him and felt him wrap his arm around her waist as he moved away from her neck.

"Missed you troublesome woman."

"I missed you too troublesome man..."


	18. Chapter 18: Smitten

Disclaimer: Tch, I thought we had this discussion already...you should know by now that Naruto isn't mine.

**A/N: **Wow...I can't believe it's the final chapter of the story! It feels like just yesterday I decided to dust of my Microsoft Word and write this story, and now it's finally over, awww. Well, I'd like to thank all of my readers and reviewers because my story wouldn't be what it is without you guys! Thanks for staying with me even through my blunders and everything. Putting this story away almost feels like that first time parents send their kids of the kindergarten. Heheh, well I hope everyone enjoyed this story, and I hope you'll look forward to all the new stories I shall be writing. I will be going on a short hiatus before my next story, but after my break I will be back in action again!

Chapter 18

**Smitten**

Shikamaru sat across from Gaara and sighed. Although neither man had uttered a word in the past five minutes, Shikamaru believed this to be the most tiresome five minutes of his life. He watched Gaara leaf through the papers in front of him occasionally stopping to study a certain portion of the paper more intently. Finally, the crimson haired man looked up from the paper and nodded at Shikamaru.

"I'll accept Tsunade's proposal."

Shikamaru nodded and bit back the smile that threatened to disturb his calm appearance.

Smirking, Gaara pointed at the door. "She's listening through the door you know."

"Oh? Is she?" Shikamaru replied while chuckling quietly and quickly appearing in front of the door. Effortlessly turning the knob, Shikamaru pulled the door open and watched a surprised Temari tumbling toward the floor. Extending his well toned arms; Shikamaru caught the falling woman and kept her from making contact with the unforgiving, wooden floors.

Freed from their usual identical quadruplet ponytails, the thick, soft honey colored hair splayed over Temari's neck and shoulders as she leaned against Shikamaru's strong chest. Bringing her head up, she attempted to contain the scarlet splotches on her cheeks. Being caught red-handed was not something Sabaku no Temari was fond off.

"Can I help you Temari?" Gaara asked calmly while seated in front of his desk.

"Yes, are you in need of something _dear_?" Shikamaru echoed while emphasizing the pet name at the end of his statement.

Pushing herself away, Temari straightened herself and put on her typical confident smirk. "Well, I was just coming to tell you something when Shikamaru opened the door." Between the excuse and a feigned smile, she shot Shikamaru a dangerous look. Had he just called her 'dear'? _He is so going to pay for that later._

"Oh really? If I didn't know better, I could have **sworn** you were eavesdropping." Shikamaru said teasingly.

"Eavesdropping? What? That's ridiculous. I was just coming to tell Gaara something and you just happened to open the door when I was trying to open it."

Shikamaru looked at Temari before turning and smirking at Gaara. Shuffling more papers around on his desk, the crimson haired man attempted to hide the amusement of his face.

"Well then, what did you come here to tell me Temari?"

"I came to tell you that Kana said she finished the paperwork you assigned her earlier." Temari clenched her fists behind her back and hoped she'd offered a good excuse.

"Is that so? Well then tell her I'd appreciate it if she brought them over so I could take a quick look at them before she sends them off." Gaara replied.

A broad smile crossed Temari's face. The excuse she'd concocted had actually worked; luck certainly was on her side today.

Turning towards Gaara, Shikamaru bowed lightly in front of him before speaking. "So, those things we were discussing...when will they be set into action?"

"They begin as of right now." A serious faced Gaara replied.

Shikamaru nodded and made his way in the direction of the exit. Temari smiled at her brother before skulking after Shikamaru. Quickly closing the door behind her, she looked down the hall expecting to see Shikamaru's figure walking down the corridor. She furrowed her brows at the sight before her. The long hallway was empty. _That's weird. He couldn't have disappeared so quickly..._

Slightly annoyed, Temari sighed and began walking down the hall. She'd only managed to take a few steps before she felt her appendages freeze. A familiar cold feeling mingled with exasperation and amusement settled in at the pit of her stomach. She knew exactly what was happening.

"Tch, kami Shikamaru. You really need to find another jutsu to surprise me with. This is the fourth or fifth time you've used this on me already." Temari said in no particular direction.

Chuckling, Shikamaru descended from his position on the ceiling and stood in front of Temari. "Well, at least I wasn't stupid enough to fall for the same thing multiple times."

"Nani?!" Temari demanded. "Well at least I have more original jutsu." She replied rolling her eyes.

"Right right. Whatever you say troublesome woman." Yawning, Shikamaru stretched and aimlessly glanced at the walls. Several moments passed before Temari finally broke the silence.

"Could you let me out of this jutsu some time _today_, Shikamaru?" Temari said still frozen in place.

"Hmm...I think that would be too troublesome..."

**----------------**

Shikamaru watched the wind kick up small clumps of sand and dust while carrying them across the barren land. Sitting against a large dune, he allowed the sand to warm his back, and Temari's warm hair to scatter around his shoulder as she rested against him. He and Temari had been discussing his new living arrangements in Suna for the past half hour.

After he'd arrived in Konoha, Shikamaru had requested specifically to be allowed to transfer back to Suna. Permanently.

Tsunade had been surprised at the usually lazy Shikamaru's suddenly zealous attitude, but after a few hours of haggling on both sides, the two finally managed to arrive at a suitable agreement. With Gaara's permission, Shikamaru would become a resident of Suna. Every four months he would report back to Konoha for at least a week and give reports of what he encountered and experienced in Suna. Although he would be residing in Suna, Tsunade insisted he return to his home village every so often. The agreement was drafted and a copy sent back with Shikamaru to give back to Gaara.

Now Gaara had accepted the proposal and in a few days, Shikamaru would be given a new dual citizenship plate to replace his former temporary one given to him for the shinobi exchange.

Shikamaru sighed and sunk down against the soft sand. Four months ago, he wouldn't have believed anyone if they told him he'd be leaving Konoha and moving to Suna. He certainly wouldn't have believed them if they told him he'd be doing all of this because of a woman; Temari nonetheless.

"Now that you'll be living in Suna, we'll be able to spar together even more often." Temari said mindlessly while fingering the sand on the ground.

"Sparring?" Shikamaru replied distastefully. "Why sparring?"

"Because it's good for you. We wouldn't want you to start getting slow in your movements."

"Slow in my movements? Temari, I'm not old."

"Yeah well you never know. You have to watch out for all these new chuunin and jounin."

"I couldn't give a rat's ass about that."

Rolling her eyes, Temari punched him in the arm. "I'll still never figure out what I like about you so much you lazy ass shinobi." She said muttering to herself.

"Maybe we'll never know." He said smiling lazily.

Temari scooted closer towards Shikamaru and allowed him to casually drape his arm around her.

"So, when are you heading to Konoha again?"

"Hmm, in two or three days; I need to bring over some more of my things for the move. I might rope Choji into helping me bring some of my things over."

Temari nodded absentmindedly. She vaguely wondered if he was having second thoughts.

"Ne...are you sure you want to move all the way here?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something, but unexpectedly stopped. The whistling of the wind seemed to soften the sharp silence that suddenly settled in between them. She watched his eyes narrow slightly and the corners of his mouth twitch slightly. Lifting his face to the sky, he closed his eyes are sighed.

"And why would you think I'd be having second thoughts?"

"Well, I-I don't know. I was just wondering."

"Hmm...there _are_ benefits to staying in Konoha." Shikamaru replied thoughtfully.

Temari crossed her arms and made a face.

"But then again...there are some pretty good benefits in Suna too." Shikamaru said while looking as though he'd come up with something justified.

"Like what?" Temari asked, thoroughly interested.

"Well you know...things like this." Shikamaru swiftly lowered his face and buried a kiss in Temari's neck. Pulling her closer, he bared his teeth and lightly bit her neck.

"Shikamaru!" A surprised Temari yelped at his actions. "Would you behave? We're at the training grounds." Temari sighed and dug her nails into the sand. Although she hadn't wanted to, she knew if she'd failed to resist him then, she probably wouldn't have had the willpower to resist him at all.

Smirking, Shikamaru shook his head. "That's a poor excuse you know."

"**Whatever**."

Temari scooted back towards him and smiled. A light wind swept over the grounds and rustled his hair. The deep brown locks that managed to free themselves scattered around his face as he sat next to her. There was something about this man that drew her to him. What it was, she wasn't quite sure. Temari sighed quietly and smiled. Their relationship had come around in rather "interesting" circumstances, but it was all for the better. She would have to admit. She was smitten. In fact it was with a certain lazy shinobi. A certain lazy shinobi by the name of Nara Shikamaru.

**End**


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